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Microsoft Acquires Four Gaming Studios, Including Ninja Theory, As It Looks To Bolster First-Party Catalog (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the in-the-gaming-world dept.

Microsoft has never had as many internal studios as Sony or Nintendo, and that has prevented it from having many first-party exclusives this generation. That changes today. From a report: At E3 trade show in Los Angeles on Sunday, the company's gaming chief Phil Spencer announced the creation of a new studio called The Initiative led by industry veteran Daryl Gallagher. He then followed up with revealing the Microsoft acquisitions of Ninja theory, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs. This bolsters the company's first-party efforts, and Spencer said it is evidence of his dedication to Xbox and its fans. Ninja Theory is best known for producing 2017's break out indie hit Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Playground has long overseen the Forza Horizon series for Microsoft. Compulsion is responsible for We Happy Few. Undead Labs created State of Decay. Also at E3, Microsoft teased Halo Infinite, and announced Forza Horizon 4. It also announced the availability of Automata, and unveiled FromSoft's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a new Battletoads game, new downloadable content for its exclusive platforming shooter Cuphead, a crossover game that features some of the biggest anime franchises, including Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, Devil May Cry 5 , a skating game called Session, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is hitting PC and consoles, Bethesda's Fallout 76, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and improvements to Xbox Game Pass.

44 comments

  1. Has Microsoft every bought a studio by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and not wrecked it? Come to think of it I can't think of any studios that survived a big buyout. Maybe Blizzard, but they were pretty huge when they got bought out so that boardered on being a merger. Bioware certainly didn't survive unscathed. ME4 stunk on ice and by all accounts Anthem is less an RPG and more a Destiny competitor (or clone if you're being mean).

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    1. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      game studios constantly rise and fall even without big company buyouts. They live on a knife edge where one failed release is bankruptry due to the insane costs around big budget games.

    2. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      If anyone was ever interested in getting Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice DRM-free, I advise you to buy it now at GOG.com because Microsoft is undoubtedly going to yank it from sale there.

      The summer sale is on right now, so it's only $20 until the 18th.

    3. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't them wrecking it. It is the nature of game development and happens everywhere with or without a buyout, the talent that makes a successful game generally moves on post a big game success and it only takes a single failure or mediocre game for the studio to be basically obliterated (either financially or through fleeing talent). Very few survive long term.

    4. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by RyanFenton · · Score: 2

      Anthem isn't really a Destiny 2 competitor. It has no PVP.

      Anthem is more of a Monster Hunter competitor.

      Which makes sense - since Destiny 2 is selling for $12, or for free in bundles now. Monster Hunter games do a LOT better.

      Multiplayer-only focused games without loot boxes kind of die quick, outside a few exceptions (counterstrike, WOW). Single player with co-op focus tend to do a LOT better.

      Every once in a while, big companies roll the dice on being the next WOW or equivalent, but the better odds are in offering a full quality single-player, and branching off of what you buy for that with your lead-in content.

      Ryan Fenton

    5. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by gman003 · · Score: 1

      Rare seems to still be doing okay. They haven't been cranking out hits as reliably as they did in the 90s, but neither have the devs who left Rare to start separate companies (Free Radical/Crytek UK had flubs like Haze, and Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee was a mixed bag).

    6. Re: Has Microsoft every bought a studio by danomac · · Score: 1

      Just ask Lionhead Studios and the Fable franchise how it worked out for them.

    7. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and not wrecked it?

      Why would anyone sell a game company that is doing just fine?
      Pretty sure most cases were about companies that already were wrecks but kept a facade up.

      Also, see how stupid it looks when you start your post in the subject.

    8. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dunno, my information is about 20 years out of date, but I thought games with Microsoft's name on it tended to be higher quality, higher production values than the competition.

      This in on PC/Windows, of course, not consoles.

    9. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's some more information here

    10. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL. The only good game with Microsoft's name on it was Freelancer and they were just the publisher so don't deserve any credit for it.

    11. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Age of Empires?

      I did consider Microsoft as a publisher only too (and that's what they primarily are), and I think my impression still holds.

      Mind you, I did not say the games needed to be "good", I just mentioned production values. I would think a publisher has some say in that.

    12. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A publisher does nothing but make a game available for sale. They don't have anything to do with the development of the game.

      And Age of Empire sucked.

    13. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, I agree. A publisher makes any game from any studio available for sale. They do not impose requirements of any kind on the games they publish, including requirements for production values. They just publish games at random, and are just as likely to publish Duck Quest as Assassin's Creed.

      </s>

    14. Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A publisher has absolutely nothing to do with the creation of the game.

  2. This was a preview for the PC gaming show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More "also available on Windows" games than you could shake a stick at.

    1. Re:This was a preview for the PC gaming show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To many this is a feature. Microsoft owns the XBox platform and any first party titles are also available on Windows. Here's the kicker: you buy it in one place and get it on both. I currently don't use a Microsoft OS, but I like the fact that if I ever did in the future, I could play a lot of my XBox games right out of the gate.

    2. Re:This was a preview for the PC gaming show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But you have to run Windows 10, and even use the store and Metro tiles in the start menu.

    3. Re:This was a preview for the PC gaming show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Owning a game console is just fucking stupid these days. Just put together a small gaming PC or laptop and have far superior games, graphics and functionality.

  3. Xbox One is a dying system? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes?

    1. Re:Xbox One is a dying system? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If by dieing you mean very successful and growing and raking in money for them especially in the gamepass and xbox gold side sure? No it isn't as successful as PS4, but success in business is not measured against your competitors.

    2. Re:Xbox One is a dying system? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "dieing", LOL

  4. Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's like those neighbours everyone hates. They can't make friends so they buy everything trying to be cool.

    Your neighbours aren't cool and neither is Microsoft. They're spoiled, rich little bastards, you mean nothing to them but exploitable profit. Wouldn't at all surprise me if M$ is paying for these bullshit PR stories flooding sites.

    1. Re:Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is E3 time moron.

    2. Re:Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is E3 time moron.

      What the hell does that have to do with anything.. Guess you're the same shill who downvoted this eh? Too much of a pussy you had to go anon or are you an editor?

    3. Re:Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is E3 time moron.

      What the hell does that have to do with anything.. Guess you're the same shill who downvoted this eh? Too much of a pussy you had to go anon or are you an editor?

      At E3 every gaming announcement is published by every site. I didn't downvote you, but if I had mod points today I certainly would have. your post is nothing but a troll post, lacking in content or any information or understanding of how the world works.

    4. Re:Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For fucks sake, E3 goes vendor by vendor for conferences on stage. MS is currently doing theres.

    5. Re:Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      seriously dude, get a fucking clue. E3 is just getting under way, expect a deluge of gaming articles from MS, Sony, Nintendo etc etc over the next few days as well as many others.

    6. Re:Microsoft keeps buying freinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      seriously dude, get a fucking clue. E3 is just getting under way, expect a deluge of gaming articles from MS, Sony, Nintendo etc etc over the next few days as well as many others.

      Which again has WHAT to do with what I said? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I was poining out they bought 5 game companies.

      Might want to learn how to comprehend what you read before responding. If anything you prove my point there's a whole lot of marketing behind these "stories".

  5. Re:Stupid E3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you think your programming is more important than someone else's? Hilarious.

  6. Basically Microsoft buys LOTS of studios by Chas · · Score: 5, Informative

    And very VERY few of them actually survive.

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    1. Re:Basically Microsoft buys LOTS of studios by Calydor · · Score: 3, Funny

      What is the survival rate of a studio bought by Microsoft vs. one bought by EA?

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    2. Re:Basically Microsoft buys LOTS of studios by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I would guess it is about the same all over the board.
      Game companies that are going well aren't for sale. If they are for sale they either have economic troubles or management issues and most likely both.
      The larger companies buys them because they either want the IP or they think they know how to manage the company right.

  7. Re:Stupid E3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Not all programming is equal. Some programming is better than other programming and programmers should be focused on programming programs.

  8. Looking forward... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...to all the delayed and canceled games.

  9. All I cared about was the new fallout by Hasaf · · Score: 1

    I watched the presentation and was pleased to see a new fallout. I just hope it does not turn into the "building game" that they did in fallout 4.

    1. Re:All I cared about was the new fallout by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the looks of it it will be RUST/ARK with a Fallout facade. If that's the case then hard pass. I can only imagine the kind of non-stop ganking that will happen if that is the case (forget building anything.)

      I really wish more specific details had come out of the presentation, I have more questions now than I did yesterday.

    2. Re: All I cared about was the new fallout by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It looks like it plays exactly like rust or ARK.

  10. MEh by DarkRookie · · Score: 1

    Not like those companies have really put anything out thats all that great.
    A couple of middling Action/Adventure games is the best they have between the four of them.

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  11. They'll be shut down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and then be dropped.It's the MS way.