Microsoft asked people to vote on the successor to 'Minesweeper' - and they chose a word game

Microsoft asked people to vote on the next game from its Casual Games studio, the part of the company that makes "Minesweeper" and "Solitaire," and the results are in: It's a word game.

The blog post announcing the decision is light on details beyond a cryptic logo which looks a little like Scrabble. Microsoft describes the game as including "several word games, multiplayer tournament modes, and new daily challenges every day."

Anyone who voted was given a choice of five options: a casino game, chess, a word game (which won), Microsoft Hearts, or Microsoft Bubble. According to Microsoft, the difference between first and second place was a small amount of votes.

Microsoft remade "Minesweeper" in early 2014 and has been focusing on casual games more and more, promoting them in the Windows Store so that everyday users can find them. As the company moves more and more towards "Windows-as-a-Service" - where Windows is free, meaning no revenue is generated from sales of the operating system - the company is looking to monetise the Windows Store.

Microsoft is also looking for beta testers for the new game. The group will get to play early versions of the game and submit feedback.