Microsoft just gave Skype a big update to help it compete with Google Hangouts

Max Slater-Robins

Jan 13, 2016, 17:41 IST

REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gestures during his keynote address at the company's "build" conference in San Francisco, California April 2, 2014.

Microsoft has added group video calling to Skype on iOS, Android, and Windows phones, according to a company blog post.

The feature is coming in the next few weeks, according to Microsoft, but anyone can sign-up to try it ahead of time on the website dedicated to the service's tenth anniversary.

Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion (£5.9 billion) in 2011, as the company looked to expand its range of services. The company has since built-out Skype for Business (alongside messaging app Yammer, another acquisition), making it more appealing to big corporations with thousands of employees.

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Google Hangouts, which launched in 2013, has had group video calling for some time and allows for broadcasting video via YouTube.

According to Microsoft, Skype has around 300 million users who make over two billion minutes of calls per day, as of 2014. Data suggests that Skype is even responsible for a drop in international calls.