Xbox Rumors and Speculation

I know they've said they're interested in talent rather than IPs, but I'd like to see them snatch up at least one big IP. I don't think they've acquired a big IP yet, unless you count Forza or Fable, which were already theirs, really. The biggest IP out of the bunch they've got so far has been what? Something from Obsidian? Nothing really stands out there. Hitman, I guess, if the IO deal goes through. That doesn't do much for me, personally. I'd like to see them grab up a nice, big, juicy IP.
Splinter Cell and Tomb Raider?
 
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Have you guys seen this Hellblade Animation Demo in Unreal Engine?

This was from GDC 2016 when the Hellblade team was 16 people. They had a collaborative animation project with Epic for 7 weeks leading up to this demo. Surreal and amazing stuff they do here.

Microsoft’s largest opportunity over the years has been their animations. Out of the major publishers, I’d say they struggle most in this area. One of the most exciting things about these collaborative efforts that gets missed is how Microsoft and the studio leads are selling the idea of being able to help each other. What if Obsidian, InXile or Compulsion pulled in these animation techniques with their story driven games?

There’s a lot of tools these developers can borrow from Microsoft but there’s also tools they can borrow from each other.
 
Have you guys seen this Hellblade Animation Demo in Unreal Engine?

This was from GDC 2016 when the Hellblade team was 16 people. They had a collaborative animation project with Epic for 7 weeks leading up to this demo. Surreal and amazing stuff they do here.

Microsoft’s largest opportunity over the years has been their animations. Out of the major publishers, I’d say they struggle most in this area. One of the most exciting things about these collaborative efforts that gets missed is how Microsoft and the studio leads are selling the idea of being able to help each other. What if Obsidian, InXile or Compulsion pulled in these animation techniques with their story driven games?

There’s a lot of tools these developers can borrow from Microsoft but there’s also tools they can borrow from each other.

Yeah, I read somewhere that the developers share tech and solutions with eachother and that through the aqcuisition this has become siginificantly faster and easier to call up The Coalition or 343 for example and share some knowledge on things. That's really cool and exciting news.
 
I know they've said they're interested in talent rather than IPs, but I'd like to see them snatch up at least one big IP. I don't think they've acquired a big IP yet, unless you count Forza or Fable, which were already theirs, really. The biggest IP out of the bunch they've got so far has been what? Something from Obsidian? Nothing really stands out there. Hitman, I guess, if the IO deal goes through. That doesn't do much for me, personally. I'd like to see them grab up a nice, big, juicy IP.

Doesn't really make sense if their philosophy is about creative freedom. The reason you want them to do that is the reason they really shouldn't. They need IPs but the way to get them is to create new ones. Not to buy some washed up franchise and force some studio on to it.
 
Doesn't really make sense if their philosophy is about creative freedom. The reason you want them to do that is the reason they really shouldn't. They need IPs but the way to get them is to create new ones. Not to buy some washed up franchise and force some studio on to it.

I meant buying the company with the IP, not just the IP alone. So it wouldn't need to be "forcing some studio" on a "washed up franchise." It could be a studio with a good, solid IP.

I'd just like to have an IP to look forward to. At this point, we've got a lot of small studios but nothing in terms of franchises that really stands out. I'm hoping we come out of it with some big, identifiable IP that really impresses.

I don't think this will happen. It looks to me as if they are trying to invest in many smaller studios, rather than a company with a big IP. That's fine, too. I'd just prefer it if there was some big exclusive IP to look forward to, in addition to these smaller projects.

I guess the big studio they founded will come up with one, eventually.
 
I meant buying the company with the IP, not just the IP alone. So it wouldn't need to be "forcing some studio" on a "washed up franchise." It could be a studio with a good, solid IP.

I'd just like to have an IP to look forward to. At this point, we've got a lot of small studios but nothing in terms of franchises that really stands out. I'm hoping we come out of it with some big, identifiable IP that really impresses.

I don't think this will happen. It looks to me as if they are trying to invest in many smaller studios, rather than a company with a big IP. That's fine, too. I'd just prefer it if there was some big exclusive IP to look forward to, in addition to these smaller projects.

I guess the big studio they founded will come up with one, eventually.

Can't imagine there are many studios they could realistically buy that have those kinds of IPs. I can't even think of one really.

Hitman type IPs aren't really any bigger than the ones Microsoft has dormant
 
Can't imagine there are many studios they could realistically buy that have those kinds of IPs. I can't even think of one really.

Yeah, I can't really think of a specific IP I'd want them to go after. The IPs that do occur to me as attractive purchases (e.g., Elder Scrolls) are outlandish (Bethesda is already owned by Zeni-Max).

Like I said, I don't think acquiring a major IP will happen. It would be nice to see, but I'm not expecting it.
 
"Starbreeze is desperately trying to save itself from going out of business after a string of high-profile flops."

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...rbreeze-after-overkills-the-walking-dead-flop

Their franchises include TWD and Payday.

They're a Swedish developer, so that probably wouldn't work for MS, who I'm guessing prefer companies closer to home.

Didn't Starbreeze used to be good? Maybe I'm confusing them with a different developer.
 
"Starbreeze is desperately trying to save itself from going out of business after a string of high-profile flops."

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...rbreeze-after-overkills-the-walking-dead-flop

Their franchises include TWD and Payday.

They're a Swedish developer, so that probably wouldn't work for MS, who I'm guessing prefer companies closer to home.

Didn't Starbreeze used to be good? Maybe I'm confusing them with a different developer.
I liked the darkness game they had but that's about it for me.
 
"Starbreeze is desperately trying to save itself from going out of business after a string of high-profile flops."

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...rbreeze-after-overkills-the-walking-dead-flop

Their franchises include TWD and Payday.

They're a Swedish developer, so that probably wouldn't work for MS, who I'm guessing prefer companies closer to home.

Didn't Starbreeze used to be good? Maybe I'm confusing them with a different developer.

They were but that was some time ago. They did the Riddick games and the first The Darkness game. Much of the talent left and formed Machine Games.
 
"Starbreeze is desperately trying to save itself from going out of business after a string of high-profile flops."

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...rbreeze-after-overkills-the-walking-dead-flop

Their franchises include TWD and Payday.

They're a Swedish developer, so that probably wouldn't work for MS, who I'm guessing prefer companies closer to home.

Didn't Starbreeze used to be good? Maybe I'm confusing them with a different developer.

They’re only Starbreeze in name. Many of their best developers followed the founders to Machine Games. The old Starbreeze developed Enclave and Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay on OG Xbox. Riddick was a very underrated game despite its lackluster license. They also developed the Darkness.

What’s left is a shell of the company.

I know they've said they're interested in talent rather than IPs, but I'd like to see them snatch up at least one big IP. I don't think they've acquired a big IP yet, unless you count Forza or Fable, which were already theirs, really. The biggest IP out of the bunch they've got so far has been what? Something from Obsidian? Nothing really stands out there. Hitman, I guess, if the IO deal goes through. That doesn't do much for me, personally. I'd like to see them grab up a nice, big, juicy IP.

Ok I’ll play. I like to look at it from the standpoint of Game Pass and what IPs out there could be leveraged most by a service like this. Before I throw out my dream scenarios, I think these are long shots at best.

Sega’s Classics - Not just 1 IP...but rather an eclectic mix of classics that have no place in today’s world outside of a service where the library sum is greater than its parts. Streets of Rage, Shinibi, Golden Ax, JSRF, Crazy Taxi, Outrun, Panzer Dragoon just to name a few. I’d like to see modern remakes farmed out to smaller studios the way Killer Instinct and Battletoads were. Then have 2nd party deals for Phantasy Star and Skies of Arcadia.

Castlevania - IP is a goldmine heavily misused by Konami who’s no longer doing anything significant on consoles. Already has a successful Netflix series. Could be leveraged by multiple teams for both 2D and 3D games.
 
Insomniac? :hehe::laugh::crazy::banana:
Just sayin...it's possible.

Insomniac is large. Medium companies associated with Sony are Blue Point and Quantic Dream. Blue Point does remakes and would make tons of sense with Microsoft’s old IPa that should be restored. Specifically the old Rare and FASA games.

Edit: Forgot about Ready at Dawn who coincidentally are expanding their studio for a new AAA IP. Could be for a Sony PS5 launch game...but timing is odd considering they’re hiring lead roles. If Sony planned on inking a deal with these guys for next gen, you would’ve thought they’d have hit that stage with them by now.
 
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"Starbreeze is desperately trying to save itself from going out of business after a string of high-profile flops."

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...rbreeze-after-overkills-the-walking-dead-flop

Their franchises include TWD and Payday.

They're a Swedish developer, so that probably wouldn't work for MS, who I'm guessing prefer companies closer to home.

Didn't Starbreeze used to be good? Maybe I'm confusing them with a different developer.

I keep hearing Swedish devs are off limits, why?
 
He said its not them.

I would guess someone like Ready at Dawn or Supermassive
Where did he say it's not them? Could be RaD, not sure it's massive as it looks like they are working on a few exclusives for Sony. Bluepoint is a possibility.

EDIT: Just saw the Tweet. Okay, its not Insomniac. But the others are still on the table. Interesting stuff nonetheless
 
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What’s thoughts on RAD if that’s who it is? I look at them much like Guerrilla Games from 10 years ago. Make stuff that looks amazing in trailers. Little shallow in actuality. They’d be surrounded by 3 other Microsoft studios. 2 of which are known for story and systems but who’ve never had good production values. RAD does amazing production values, but very shallow in terms of game design. If RAD is growing and is given sufficient time, maybe they could make a Guerrilla Games type of leap next gen.
 
Interesting tease from Klobrille there. My thoughts on the speculations so far:

1. Note that he says "I choose my words carefully," and that his words were "historically worked together with PlayStation a bit." "Historically worked with" suggests a past involvement, not current or recent, and "a bit" suggests limited rather than deep involvement.

2. That would rule out Quantic Dream, who have worked with Sony extensively and recently.

3. It would probably also rule out Blue Point, who have worked with Sony several times and recently finished SotC (although I agree Blue Point would be a good studio to grab up; very talented, at least in doing remasters.)

4. Ready at Dawn. Yeah, that would be possible. They've gone multiplat, so their Sony alliance is in the past, and they only did the one game, several years ago, and it didn't work out all that great. I don't think Sony is interested in partnering up again. And it matches Klobrille's description.

5. Supermassive. Yeah, that would be another possibility. A much more interesting and talented studio than Ready at Dawn, for my money. Until Dawn was great, and I'm really looking forward to the Dark Pictures Anthology they've got planned. It would also be a good fit for Game Pass. They've gone multiplat, so they're open.
 
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Interesting tease from Klobrille there. My thoughts on the speculations so far:

1. Note that he says "I choose my words carefully," and that his words were "historically worked together with PlayStation a bit." "Historically worked with" suggests a past involvement, not current or recent, and "a bit" suggests limited rather than deep involvement.

2. That would rule out Quantic Dream, who work with Sony extensively and recently.

3. It would probably rule out Blue Point, too, who have worked a lot with Sony and recently finished SotC (although I agree Blue Point would be a good studio to grab up; very talented, at least in doing remasters.)

4. Ready at Dawn. Yeah, that would be possible. They've gone multiplat, so their Sony alliance is in the past, and they only did the one game, several years ago, and it didn't work out all that great. I don't think Sony is interested in partnering up again. And it matches Klobrille's description.

5. Supermassive. Yeah, that would be another possibility. A much more interesting and talented studio than Ready at Dawn, for my money. Until Dawn was great, and I'm really looking forward to the Dark Pictures Anthology they've got planned. It would also be a good fit for Game Pass. They've gone multiplat, so they're open.

Good assessments. Last 2 do make sense on paper except Supermassive seems to be doing very well on their own. They’d break the trend Microsoft has had so far. Microsoft is supposedly letting these studios fulfill current agreements/expectations. Supermassive is the only studio I can think of who had a 3 game deal.

I think we’re down to RAD. You’re right that Supermassive would be perfect for Game Pass though.

Edit: listing out Sony’s 2nd party partner studios really puts things in context of how far behind Microsoft was and why they still have a ways to go. Sony’s B team was ahead of Microsoft’s A team after Insomniac and Remedy no longer worked with Microsoft.
 
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Good assessments. Last 2 do make sense on paper except Supermassive seems to be doing very well on their own.

Are they? Their last 2 games were on PSVR (Bravo Team, The Inpatient), and I don't think either of those did very well, commercially or critically. I'm speculating, but maybe that soured them on working with Sony, and they'd be open to MS.

Another reason to hope is that, if you listen to their plans, they are extremely ambitious. They have plans for 30-something different Dark Anthology games. Of course, most of those won't come to fruition, but it shows how creative and ambitious they are. They might be open to MS making them financially secure, so they could pursue their ambitions, without worrying about whether these types of games -- brief, semi-linear SP, which are kind of a gamble -- will sell enough.

Maybe. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Of all the studios mentioned so far, this would be the one I'd prefer.

The thing that makes me doubt it's Supermassive is the fact that they worked more than "a bit" with Sony, and two of their games have come out fairly recently, so it doesn't seem to square well with Klobrille's language.


I also had the thought that ThatGameCompany, the guys who created Journey, would also be a nice "get." They're multiplat now, having finished their 3 game contract with Sony many years ago. They are a small and very creative studio, similar to Ninja Theory in some ways. Their next game is headed in a direction I'm not all that excited about, but if MS is looking to build up their stable of small, creative, and talented studios, it would be a nice choice.
 
I keep hearing Swedish devs are off limits, why?

I don't know if they're off limits. I just think it might be more difficult for MS to work with them, since they're halfway around the world. However, maybe that's not an issue. I don't know how these things work, honestly -- that is, I don't know much about the practical realities of how MS oversees and supports these studios.
 
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Good assessments. Last 2 do make sense on paper except Supermassive seems to be doing very well on their own. They’d break the trend Microsoft has had so far. Microsoft is supposedly letting these studios fulfill current agreements/expectations. Supermassive is the only studio I can think of who had a 3 game deal.

I think we’re down to RAD. You’re right that Supermassive would be perfect for Game Pass though.

Edit: listing out Sony’s 2nd party partner studios really puts things in context of how far behind Microsoft was and why they still have a ways to go. Sony’s B team was ahead of Microsoft’s A team after Insomniac and Remedy no longer worked with Microsoft.
I don’t think Insomniac nor Remedy ever left MS. Nor did they ever leave Sony. I think they do their own thing.
 
I also had the thought that ThatGameCompany, the guys who created Journey, would also be a nice "get." They're multiplat now, having finished their 3 game contract with Sony many years ago. They are a small and very creative studio, similar to Ninja Theory in some ways. Their next game is headed in a direction I'm not all that excited about, but if MS is looking to build up their stable of small, creative, and talented studios, it would be a nice choice.

If you are going down that road Housemarque would be a possibility but doesn't really fit the "bit" part.
 
Are they? Their last 2 games were on PSVR (Bravo Team, The Inpatient), and I don't think either of those did very well, commercially or critically. I'm speculating, but maybe that soured them on working with Sony, and they'd be open to MS.

Another reason to hope is that, if you listen to their plans, they are extremely ambitious. They have plans for 30-something different Dark Anthology games. Of course, most of those won't come to fruition, but it shows how creative and ambitious they are. They might be open to MS making them financially secure, so they could pursue their ambitions, without worrying about whether these types of games -- brief, semi-linear SP, which are kind of a gamble -- will sell enough.

Maybe. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Of all the studios mentioned so far, this would be the one I'd prefer.

The thing that makes me doubt it's Supermassive is the fact that they worked more than "a bit" with Sony, and two of their games have come out fairly recently, so it doesn't seem to square well with Klobrille's language.


I also had the thought that ThatGameCompany, the guys who created Journey, would also be a nice "get." They're multiplat now, having finished their 3 game contract with Sony many years ago. They are a small and very creative studio, similar to Ninja Theory in some ways. Their next game is headed in a direction I'm not all that excited about, but if MS is looking to build up their stable of small, creative, and talented studios, it would be a nice choice.

Ah. Ok. You know more than me. I’m sold. Lol

I have Until Dawn but it’s still in my backlog.
 
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Another smaller rumor...this one regarding Piranha Games who’s currently developing Mech Warrior 5 for the PC. The studio has met with Microsoft multiple times this year, has talked about a Xbox version and loses the license in 2020 back to Microsoft.

I like this potential eclectic mix of studios. Game won’t appeal to most console gamers but it could strengthen the Battletech IP and encourage a Mech Assault reboot.

I prefer controller for most games but I would put together a mouse and keyboard setup in front of the big screen for Mech Warrior if it comes to Xbox. I like them bringing in a studio who’s passionate about the IP.
 
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