By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
EspadaGrim on 23 August 2018

Matt Booty interview https://www.gamesindustry.biz/amp/2018-08-23-why-xbox-bought-ninja-theory?__twitter_impression=true

from the article "We have an interest in studios that fit this criteria of 50 to 100 people, who are making games on a two to three year cadence, and have content that we think will be of interest to our Game Pass subscribers."

So Game pass is a big reason why they went to acquire many studios and are looking at mid sized studios to buy.

Last edited by EspadaGrim - on 23 August 2018

Around the Network
EspadaGrim on 23 August 2018

So MS will not be going after AAA Studios unless a good situation presents itself, I'm guessing that's why they are going after Obsidian and I personally hope that they manage to acquire them.Funny that Platinum is the type the studio that they are looking for since no other studio can replicate their output but due to their relationship this is a pipe dream.

Besides the ones i have already named here in the past they should also look at these two studios.

1. Frogwares, (devs of the Sherlock Holmes series) they are a very active studio despite being on the smaller side. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogwares and their next game the Sinking City looks great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAvZHoxzJfQ

2. No Matter Studios, 3 dev team https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME-IFkNo_D4 currently working on their debut game Praey for the Gods that they funded on kickstarter  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh0ogDchKPg . They are based in Kirkland, Washington so MS would be close by and could help them expand and build up a bigger team.

Last edited by EspadaGrim - on 24 August 2018

EspadaGrim on 24 August 2018
shikamaru317 said:

I figured this might be their strategy. I remember Shannon saying after E3 2017 when Game Pass was first announced that they were considering making some episodic exclusives specifically for the purpose of keeping people subbed to Game Pass every month rather than only paying for a single month when an exclusive they care about releases. Having a bunch of AA studios that can churn out games quickly is a good way to convince people to make Game Pass a permanent sub. Ninja Theory has 3 teams supposedly so they'll basically be putting out 1 exclusive per year most likely. Compulsion and Undead Labs probably 1 game every 2 or 3 years unless they staff them up into multi-team studios. Plus the AAA studios (343, Coalition, Initiative, Turn 10, Playground) putting out a game every 3 years per team most likely (2 years for Forza unless they are smart and add a Kart racer to the rotation to give them 3 years), plus 2nd party deal games. That's a good many games per year, but not enough to keep most people subbed to Game Pass permanently, they're going to need to acquire more studios for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another wave of 4 or 5 studio acquisitions or built from the ground up studios by next E3, unless they announce them before then. 

This is why I want to them to get Obsidian since they are at 170 devs (2017 estimate) and would be the second biggest studio acquisition after Playground and possibly the only AAA size that they are going after as far as we know, I doubt that they will build new studios from the ground up after the Initiative unless they can get a top tier dev with experience to be the head of it.



EspadaGrim on 24 August 2018

"For our next set of projects we want to Turbo charge our efforts, we want to make to make bigger worlds more characters and push the boundaries of believability"



They should be at round 120 devs total now seeing how much they are hiring, so divide that by 3 and that's three teams of 40 depending on each of the teams needs (Hellblade was made with a team of 30). Hope that they keep expanding.



EspadaGrim on 24 August 2018

I did not know that Moon Studios was that big, they are currently bigger than Compulsion. From thomasmahler (game director at Moon Studios) "We’re 50 people from 34 different countries now, but we’re working on two projects simultaneously:)"

Hope that MS locked that second game as an exclusive.



Around the Network
flashfire926 on 24 August 2018
EspadaGrim said:
I did not know that Moon Studios was that big, they are currently bigger than Compulsion. From thomasmahler (game director at Moon Studios) "We’re 50 people from 34 different countries now, but we’re working on two projects simultaneously:)"

Hope that MS locked that second game as an exclusive.

Does that mean they are from 34 different countries of origin and work in the same studio? Or does that mean they all work from different countries?



Bet with Intrinsic:

The Switch will outsell 3DS (based on VGchartz numbers), according to me, while Intrinsic thinks the opposite will hold true. One month avatar control for the loser's avatar.

jason1637 on 25 August 2018

Finally got a chance to play Cursed Sails with some friends and it's a solid update. The Meg ended up showing up and fucking over my ship and the skeleton ships. Also after we had like 10 cannons left and we're being attacked by an alliance of 2 sloop while trying to cash in the loot from the skeleton fight. Can't wait for the Forsaken Shores expansion



AsGryffynn on 27 August 2018
shikamaru317 said:
flashfire926 said:

Does that mean they are from 34 different countries of origin and work in the same studio? Or does that mean they all work from different countries?

They work from different countries. Moon Studios is a virtual studio, they collaborate from all over the world and use Skype or Discord for meetings and such. 

Occasionally, they might meet in a physical location, depending on ability and proximity. My guys do this, with the only exception being the Japanese people we're trying to get something done with. Strictly speaking though, that's how they work. I don't know if Moon Studios has a "main" country where most staff is based, or they are evenly divided among them. 



derpysquirtle64 on 27 August 2018

Xbox All Access is a nice thing but I expect it to be US only, so I doubt it will make a significant push for Microsoft worldwide.



 

AsGryffynn on 28 August 2018

First time I've heard of handing out a loan for a friggin games console. They definitely outdid themselves here...