While one may argue on which next generation console has been more successful so far between PS4 and Xbox One, it’s pretty obvious that Microsoft considers the launch of its own machine a success, and considering the numbers it’s hard to blame them.

One of the best ways to gauge the success of a platform is to watch the flow of career opportunities offered to support said platform after its launch, and in that field Microsoft seems to be on a roll, especially in the past week.

During the last seven days Microsoft Game Studios offered 31 different positions across multiple teams (in a total of 50 jobs currently offered, most of which offered in the last 30 days) including Lionhead, 343 Industries, Turn 10, Rare and more.  That’s a situation that has almost no precedents for the studios. Nine new opportunities have appeared just today, on a Sunday.

It’s also not too surprising, as when you have a platform that sells as fast as the Xbox One did at the beginning of the next current generation, you have to hurry and provide as many games as possible to keep that momentum going, and to do so you have to bolster the team. More bodies mean more man-hours put into the games, and ultimately faster releases.

We’ll have to wait and see what Microsoft Game Studios will be able to deliver in 2014, but they’re definitely grabbing all the manpower they can in order to surprise us.

http://www.dualshockers.com/2013/12/15/microsoft-game-studios-hiring-spree-gives-perspective-to-xbox-ones-successful-launch/

I'm not sure if 31 is a lot in video game industry terms.

If it is, that's awesome, maybe it can revitalize the industry some.

Haven't they just closed a studio? Victoria? (definitely Canada)

They moved them to Black Tusk Studios and BigPark Studios which is in the same area.  They were already working with them from Black Tusk's news page and since BT is working on four games and being in the same area it isn't surprising that they moved them to BT and who knows what BigPark is working on.

A few people may have lost their job in the process however.

This is the problem with games journalism, only half the stories are picked up. Sony closed loads of studios by merging things and shifting employees and Microsoft are doing the same here. Jobs come and go all over the place, I just think this is basically a net non-story

In the larger perspective of things, 30 employees aren't many. According to wikipedia, 343 employees work at 343i... Black Tusk with 100+

I guess it depends on things.  Microsoft has pretty big studios as it is.  343i is 300+, I'm not sure about Rare but they have three teams so I assume they're pretty big as well. 

I don't know much about Black Tusk Studios other than them having an all-star team, working on four games, and now a lot of Victoria Studios are now working with them.  I assume they're pretty big as well.

From how I see things both Sony and Microsoft over the last couple of years has been making their studios bigger which is why we re seeing multiple teams in each studio. Except Microsoft has been adding new studios as well as expanding.

Example

Naughty Dog - Two Teams
Rare Ltd - 3 Teams
343i - 300+ Employees and working on multiple projects so likely multiple teams.
Santa Monica - Multiple Teams
Lionhead - 2 Teams
Black Tusk - 4 Games
Lift London - Multiple Games
Guerilla Games - 2 Teams

And the list goes on with both of them.  The only developers I know of that has one team is Polyphony Digital and Turn 10 which is understandable since they really only do racing sims.

In the end I agree with you that it needs to be emphasized that devs aren't just shutting down.  They are being moved and expanding other studios.

I was expecting more than 31 by the title as that seems to be an insignificant amount, but to those 31 who got jobs, I'm sure that it's not insignificant to them at all. Anytime people are being hired and not laid off, it's great news in my book.

I was expecting more than 31 given the title. 31 across several development studios doesn't sound like very much at all - though I guess it can be.

I guess so many jobs means that MS greenlit a number of projects just now? One would think they would already be hard at work on IPs new and old and that by this time they would have a reasonably settled development team.

Yeah, ND for example started the gen with something like 80 employees and now they seem to be 200+

Are you sure Black Tusk are working on 4 games? Because unless they've hired like 500 people there, then that would indicate they are arcade games, not AAA?

Anyway, I totally agree, doesn't mean I'm not pissed about Microsoft closing Ensemble so I don't get Halo Wars 2!