This makes me wonder if Microsoft is not happy with the model of owning semi-autonomous studios with pre-established leadership and management conventions. Perhaps they've become enamored with building their own studios that are firmly under the thumb of Microsoft Studios.
They might be thinking that if you're dealing with a studio that largely decides its own projects, why own them at all? Why not just buy the rights to the project rather than the studio itself? That way, if you have a hit, you're in great shape, but if it's a flop, you can just walk away from it. Furthermore, if you're skeptical of that studio's next project, you can decline to support it with zero financial fallout.
Basically, we might be seeing more Sunset Overdrives and less Fables. Which is to say, third party studios with first party projects contracted on an individual basis.
Microsoft seemed to be mimicking Sony's Worldwide Studios at the start of this generation but, in all honesty, Microsoft isn't really "all-in" when it comes to console gaming the way Sony is with Playstation. It's never going to be more than a side-business for them. Sony's gaming software model is all about building up the Playstation brand, with losses seen as acceptable. I think Microsoft's top management wants to take a step back from that approach and maximize their earnings potential with each and every project, which is why most games are going to Windows.
We might be looking at the first stages of a shifting landscape in the gaming industry. This is interesting.
