Does Square own Crystal? If so I expect MS to poach their talent after PD launches.

It does suck but Crystal Dynamics are a talented studio too and will likely work very well for Gallagher since he ran them for 13 years, I would suspect that the people leaving The Initiative are being replaced by Crystal Dynamics senior employees whilst The Initiative leads the overall vision still.

My worry is more what happens after Perfect Dark if Square Enix doesn't want to do Perfect Dark 2. Maybe The Initiative should staff up into a typical 300-400 person AAA studio whilst Crystal Dynamics develops the bulk of it but if not, Microsoft needs to acquire Crystal Dynamics or have some guarantees at least they won't lose them later down the line.

Being at almost 50 devs after nearly 4 years of existence is very bad especially when you consider the amount of talent in the area, if something else happens and Darrel Gallagher ends up leaving it could mean the end of the studio itself. That’s doomsday scenario though.

MS might need to now really consider making a bid for both Crystal and Eidos from Squenix after the ActiBlizz deal goes through. Another possible option would be to go after the WB studios since the new CEO wants to make over 3 billion in budget cuts and might not be interested in being in the gaming business at all. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/where-warnermedia-discovery-will-find-3-billion-in-cuts-newsletter-2021-5%3famp

Looking forward to giving Crusader Kings a go. Heard good things

Have you ever played a Paradox grand strategy game before? If not, prepare to spend at least 50 hours learning the game before actually being able to play it lol it’s extremely satisfying though! 

Have you ever played a Paradox grand strategy game before? If not, prepare to spend at least 50 hours learning the game before actually being able to play it lol it’s extremely satisfying though! 

I agree that you need to learn the basics, otherwise you won't have a clue what's going on but I disagree with the 50 hours estimate to play the game.

I only watched some streamers play the game for a few hours (complete noobs that learned the game while playing with a short 2 hour guided tutorial by someone who had a little more experience and some helpful tips from the chat) and that was enough. However, even after 50 hours there will still be stuff to learn for optimization.