I think lets wait and see if Perfect Dark shows up this year first, I do think The Initiative may be shutdown though in favour of giving Crystal Dynamics complete control over Perfect Dark, I don't really see the point of The Initiative anymore and in the same timeframe, World's Edge has been responsible for releasing multiple titles but The Initiative hasn't even released one. World's Edge is doing a brilliant job on multiple IP but if TI is only going to be working on one and only as the creative leads then is there any point having a dedicated studio? Why not just move them into XGSP?

343 has been great since Pierre took over but it was too little too late.

Think he did the best he could with the resources he had and the situation he was put in.

I have high hopes for a Halo under him.

But some studios simply don't want to make AAA like Double Fine.

I'm starting to feel a little weird about predicting studio closures =/

Feels a bit wrong, maybe I should stop.

Maybe just go play some games, on Xbox or wherever. Literally nothing you can do will stop studios closures so no point stresssing … unless they close Lyon .. then the gloves are coming fucking off 😂

The focus will probably be on Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, Diablo, Minecraft, Forza Horizon (not Motorsport), Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, Overwatch. I also think Halo and Gears of War will be safe because they're too iconic. Sea of Thieves will be safe as long as it is played, I think Doom is safe but not Wolfenstein, Blade should be safe, Age of Empires and Flight Simulator are safe. State of Decay, Fable are more likely than not, safe IPs.

I love many of those IPs but I never wanted AAA blockbusters only, I once had debates in this thread that Microsoft shouldn't push their studios to work on AAA blockbusters only to sell Xbox consoles, they should allow creative freedom and that there's AA gems that sit alongside the AAA titles too, I was a lover of both the AA and AAA titles and didn't want one at the expense of the other but it seems that's the future for most publishers.

I'm not a AAA hater or an AA hater, I love all types of games, variety is the best.

I will, I'm still excited for upcoming games too, I look forward to seeing more of them, despite Xbox's leaderships best efforts to screw them over, I won't stop supporting the awesome developers under Xbox working their asses off and that goes for the rest of the industry too, I'm still looking forward to Hellblade II and very excited for Avowed, Fable, Indiana Jones, etc. I will cheer them on and support them, while giving a middle-finger to Xbox HQ, Lol. I'm still looking forward to the June showcase but I only want to see developers at it, I don't want to see any Xbox executive.

Waking up then remembering Tango is closed. What a waste of amazing talent.

It *really* feels like we are heading to another gaming crash. With Sony barely able to make profit on games that sell a ton because of insane budgets coupled with MS doing stuff like this... once again the only company that isn't a disaster is Nintendo and once again they may be what saves the industry.

MS and Sony should completely skip the PS6/XS2 generation, allow their developers to get so used to working on engines for this generation that they can do things quicker and reduce expenses tremendously enough that neither company has to shut down studios if their games don't sell 10 million+ copies.

What is happening is gaming is basically turning into Hollywood, won't be long before The Game Awards is renamed to The Game Oscars.

Little bit of copium but maybe when Matt Booty said "These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda's portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades." He meant only Bethesda is being changed to prioritize high impact titles and wasn't talking about XGS in this, which still sucks but at this rate I'm just hoping for the least amount of damage possible.

Maybe XGS will be safe as the unique variety focused publishing arm, while ABK and Bethesda focus on high impact.

Another reason this will not really affect MS long term is because none of these studio closures directly affect actual gamers.  What I mean by that is that while its disappointing that these studios got close, they do not have a direct effect on gamers playing games they enjoy.  That is different then making decisions that directly impact gamers which is something that gets movement within and outside of the community.

Also do not put this on Satya yet.  For all you know this is purely Phil decisions and his team on the direction they need to move the companies and it properties.  As I have stated for a while, what big corporations see as important is not the same as what the average consumer thinks as important.  People talking about Phil is going to step down because of how unpopular these moves are but I disagree.  Phil just got a promotion not to long ago before these changes were implemented which tells me that MS top brass are very much in step with Phil decisions and his direction.  In my opinion this is all Phil and while today we do not see the scope or the reasons for these moves, I doubt it was anyone else pulling the strings but him.  Just from my own experience, some of the nicest bosses I have had can be the most cutthroat boss when it comes to business.  Hell one of my favorite bosses who game me gifts and acknowledgement for every anniversary, childbirth and family occasions from my previous job was the most cutthroat boss when it came to business and meeting expectations.  He still today sends me gifts for my kids for their bithday even though I do not work at the company anymore.

As for MS top C level execs talking to much, that was never a good move.  Sometimes you do have to make moves that will not make you a loveable person and I always thought it was not wise to try to present that side of yourself when you are just as cutthroat as the next C level exec.  

Last but not least, what someone says in the past does not mean things do not change.  Most of you guys were talking about how MS need to double down on their popular franchises and get them to market sooner and when your wish actually becomes true you do not like the results.  Its like opening the Genie in the bottle and making a wish only to be disappointed that it did not turn out the way you thought it would.