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Xbox Game Studios |OT4| When everyone plays, we all win
- Thread starter Figments
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The picture is part of my articles 12-week deep dive investigation into possible Microsoft game Studio acquisitions.
Nah. Its just this.
Keep your friends close your acquisitions closer.
It helps put the pieces together for my theory about Xbox Studio acquisitions.
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Don't get me wrong I've been fishing this theory for a while now. I am not an industry Insider nor do I pretend to be. I just like to follow the news and put pieces together there's a third company that I would want to say Microsoft is going to acquire but there's a lot less evidence for that one. As far as IO and stardock goes however I have been doing some homework and if you look at my history or just the last few thread posts there's a lot of ducks that lineup.
That's fine, I just don't see the point of calling it Fable if it has no thematic or mechanical ties to the original Trilogy. Like let's just reboot Perfect Dark as a Gothic horror third person platformer with dating sim elements then?
I'm not trying to be a whiny, don't touch my IP, fan boy or anything, I wouldn't be that upset if the Playground did all new characters and a new world and completely threw out the original trilogy story wise, I literally only care about the tone and the player agency. I just don't see the point in making Fable without that. I can even take or leave the 'British humor' of it all, as long as it's got the same kind of whimsical with very dark edges vibe, I just don't want Fable to become a by the numbers open world RPG.
Let the devs do whatever they want, but if what they want isn't Fable, don't make them call it Fable.
I don't think Microsoft will acquire another studio this year. They already have more first-party studios than Nintendo, and plenty more IP than they know what to do with. If they're smart, they'll wait see if their heavy investing last year will bear fruit first, before jumping in for another round of spending.
Right now, all they should focusing on is funding and delivering content, whether it's through xCloud or their brand new console.
Right now, all they should focusing on is funding and delivering content, whether it's through xCloud or their brand new console.
Playground being a great dev, being a great dev in the UK, and being a great dev with full MS backing now, makes me very content in the idea of them 'reimagining' Fable. I have complete faith they'll make a Fable for a new generation of gamers and make it well.
As far as I'm concerned they aren't where they need to be for first party manpower, especially with bigger fish jumping in. I would say buy more early and often because the price is only going to go higher when these other tech companies start sniffing around. They did good getting 4 studios last year and sort of seeing which way the wind was blowing there. Better to not be in a bidding war with the likes of Google or Amazon and to get more content creators before those types have all their ducks in a row.
As far as I'm concerned they aren't where they need to be for first party manpower, especially with bigger fish jumping in. I would say buy more early and often because the price is only going to go higher when these other tech companies start sniffing around. They did good getting 4 studios last year and sort of seeing which way the wind was blowing there. Better to not be in a bidding war with the likes of Google or Amazon and to get more content creators before those types have all their ducks in a row.
Like every insider on here has hinted at them acquiring more studios this year.
You need a constant delivery of content with xCloud, Game Pass, and Xbox, so buying more studios as they debut and expand their services is in their best interest. Especially as Google and Amazon are trying to compete in this space. MS is thinking big and for the long term and they've fully committed in completely investing in it to not only be a success but the market leader.
I usually don't like when marketing accounts try to be all cute and cheeky, but I love who ever is in charge of this one. Somehow it doesn't feel as forced or pandering as this usually does.
Stardock.
It is as plain as the pancakes on Matt Booty's plate..
Doubt it, Otherwise he would of cut Saturn into his pancakes the obvious option is they got the rights for Captain America game hence creating his shield in pancakes.
Agreed. Consoles Wars is pretty much over, there's much bigger competition, Microsoft is staying ahead of the game and buying IPs and Studios.
I would bet good money this was the date originally set for Inside Xbox before the "delay."
I put delay in quotes because was it really a delay if Major just off-handedly mentioned the second week of April in a podcast.
Blog post the same day saying they've acquired Relic? A man can dream.
I am more excited for Gears 5 than I have been for any Gears game since 2. But I'm a little conflicted now. I may want to wait a year and play the enhanced version on far more powerful hardware.
I'm sure there are going to be a ton of next-gen enhancements on Anaconda
Sumo..Sumo..Sumo... Although it wasn't "critically acclaimed" Crackdown 3 was a game that "just works". No loading times, few to no major hiccups, fluid game play. As a developer Sumo Digital is very talented. They don't seem to have their own IP to pitch to a major publisher yet, but Microsoft likes using them on their projects. Could Sumo Digital be the next "Playground Games" ? Could Sumo take some of Microsoft's IP's and make them their own? Viva Pinata? Sudeki? Blinx?!
You just had to make it hard. It would probably be Option C for me, but if I could have a total of 6 more studios out of all of these it would be these - Larian, Cyberconnect2, Bluepoint, Asobo, Relic and IO. The Farm 51, Yager, Dontnod, Remedy, and Yager are all good too of course, but those are my preferences.
The biggest thing with a lot of these studios, is for them to get the support and budget they need. Larian makes REALLY great games, but I hate seeing them limited to Kickstarter and I want them to be fully focused on making the greatest with what they have (they also have strategy and ARPG experience so expanding them with additional teams would be great). All of these studios can become industry leading if given the time and budget. 4A Games was my pick before, but I think they're doing well enough and can stay independent.
All of these options are really good, but for me it would be A, B, C, or E (Option D would be Bluepoint really). It's honestly hard to pick. Since I love RPGs so much, it would probably come down to Option C. Sure, Klei isn't an RPG dev, but CC2 and Larian is worth that much to me. Option A would be my second pick, with B next, then E and finally D. Though the thing with E is that each of those studios I can see having A LOT of potential.
User Banned (Permanent): Repeated trolling and system wars, numerous accumulated infractions
God please no dookie studios. They had tons of time with CD3 and they blew it.
I can dig this but they won't make Hitman and Metro anymore so either they'd need some of MS other IP's or make new ones
The obvious choice for IOI would be Perfect Dark, what would 4A handle though?
I like what Sumo does, and I wouldn't mind seeing a dedicated internal studio tied to Crackdown going forward, but Sumo may be a bit large. They've got what, five studios spread over two countries. Someone can probably correct me on that if I'm wrong. Point being they'd be a much larger acquisition than any of the current wave.
Then again that size could be the exact reason why they would acquire Sumo. It'd be a nice single stroke way of getting several talented teams. Potato potato.
I think IOI owns the Hitman IP, and Freedom Fighters for what it's worth.
As for 4A, I dont think theyre really in the cards, but I guess if they were brought in to the fold, it'd be to work on new original IP. Which isn't out of the question, Ninja Theory and Compulsion are both almost certainly going to be working on new IP. I could also see 4A working on an open world survival game in the Gears universe, that could be neat.
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Exactly, THQ is the ultimate quantity over quality publisher, Sumo would fit in perfectly over there.
They are at the upper bounds of what Matt Booty said as far as size, but they wold be so great at supporting other studios the way they do now. I know it is not my money but I would grab them before someone else does.
I don't want to talk badly on a dev but what has sumo made to garner all this attention of their last 10 games how many had a meta over70 how bout 80 how many over 90?
You say that like Microsoft didn't just buy inXile, Undead Labs and Compulsion. None of their output has been really groundbreaking or even critically well received but Spencer saw something in them to want to bring them in to do bigger/more titles exclusively for the Xbox brand.
If you don't count Crackdown 3 (which in my opinion is in the 70s) 9 out of 10 over 70. They helped with Forzas, and Little Big Planets, and last I checked those games rated pretty good.
In the last 7 years Sumo Digital has collaborated with Microsoft on 7 different titles. I don't want them to combine their studios to make one new AAA IP, but use their multiple studios to support existing XGS or have a studio or two go for their own AA IP.
No way. If anything, I think with Google entering the race, and Apple showing renewed emphasis on gaming, we're going to see an even greater investment in Xbox from MS going forward. What better vindication to the higher-ups at MS than so many tech giants entering the gaming sphere?
remedy would be an absolute bonkers, instantly top tier first party studio. any wishlist of acquisitions that has them is an easy pick.
The thought of IO Interactive giving up Hitman to work on Perfect Dark is too painful for me to think about. Hitman is a venerable, if niche, franchise that is somehow getting better over time (Absolution being an anomaly). I'm a constant proponent of studios making new IPs, but Hitman is one of the few I hope never goes away. It's been almost 20 years now, and still no one does stealth like IO Interactive.
I'd rather they stayed independent and making Hitman games with Warner Bros than not making them with Microsoft.
MS has tried forever to be more trendy or hip or zeitgeisty or whatever, and Xbox is the one area they've had some success. They don't have AirPods or "googling" in their column. I agree that this is a place they'd be tempted to put their balls on the table.
Though when it comes down to it, dollars still rule all, especially the higher up the food chain you go. But MS CEO Satya Nadella has been very public about his support of the Xbox division. They still see Xbox as the gateway drug into the larger MS sphere, pushing broader apps and services.
It works. Their giving me free Xbox currency got me using bing at least half the time. I tend to buy my movies and stuff through them because I see the sales and since I'm in their store anyway. Without Xbox I'd surely be buying more through Apple or amazon or google play instead.
IIRC Hitman 2, despite critical success was a commercial flop, so if they stayed independent they wouldn't stay around much longer without laying off a bunch of their staff.
InXile has a rich history of talent. Tides of Numera, and Wasteland 2 are very good games with some of the best writing in video games. Not sure what your comment is trying to say about them.
Undead Labs have been successful with state of decay, though the franchise lacks polish.
Compulsion makes creative worlds, with rich stories and unique artstyles. The purchase is about potential.
inXile put out 2 81+ games this gen so I'm not sure where you got the idea that they aren't a high quality developer. I guarantee you that Wasteland 3 is also going to be a solid 80+ game putting them at 3 80+ games this gen
Most developers could only dream of putting out that many quality games in the course of 5-6 years, and on kickstarters with limited budgets and resources none the less.
InXile was one of MS smarter purchases. Literally the only acquisition that I'm against and that I feel was a waste is Compulsion but they were most likely bought for dirt cheap.
Regarding IOI, we have:
- Klob saying its acquisition was being considered a few months ago.
- Booty eating pancakes with the shape of IOI's logo.
- Microsoft Dev Blog post about DX12 with IOI as one of the devs/partners using the feature.
- Microsoft Denmark's article/interview with someone from IOI.
You could read a lot into it or not.
- Klob saying its acquisition was being considered a few months ago.
- Booty eating pancakes with the shape of IOI's logo.
- Microsoft Dev Blog post about DX12 with IOI as one of the devs/partners using the feature.
- Microsoft Denmark's article/interview with someone from IOI.
You could read a lot into it or not.
Let's just have Microsoft buy Sony and Nintendo. Half the users of the website would be posting in our thread. Wouldn't that be great.
probably not
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