If that's the case with Yooka-Laylee, why would a partnership between a studio with poor design skills and a publisher with bad instincts be any better?

For Conker: this is just throwing money at an unproven studio.

343 made two underwhelming Halo games with poor level design and AI, and they removed splitscreen from the most recent one. I don't think the studio would be properly equipped to make a mission-based shooter focused on local multiplayer.

Actually, I need to ask: when was the last time you played an Xbox game?

Playtonic doesnt have poor design skills, they just cut corners and made a basic product with the budget they got. This thread assumes MS making and funding these games with full creative control at the devs. Funding unproven studios and concepts is exactly what it encourages MS to do.

You're comparing 343 with Bungie, 343 made their own version of Halo, they're not mechanically bad games if you dont compare them with Bungies output.

Last Xbox game I played was about a week ago, SMT Nine, yeah I'm an og Xbox fan from 1999 before we got to see the console. Why do you have to ask?

Playtonic cut corners and made a basic product but the studio is capable of greatness? Based on what?

Yes, if you compare something pedestrian to something great, the pedestrian thing usually suffers as a result.

No, what I mean is: what was the most recently-released Xbox game you played? It sounds like you didn't play Halo 5.

Based on their track record. If you follow Kickstarters and the indie scene you would have known doing a full 3D platformer on a $4M was never gonna work. I was one of the first to doubt the game's feasibility. Same happened with Trine 3, they said the studio needed at least $15M, this is why Double Fine is getting another $8M from Starbreeze for Psychonauts 2 so it actually can live up to the standards set by the previous game.

Most recent I have is Forza Horizon 3. Why do you have to ask and why do you have to question what games I play?

I ask because it sounds like you have an incomplete knowledge of Xbox games. You say Halo needs some fresh new ideas but you haven't played Halo 5 or Halo Wars 2?