Microsoft Acquires Four Gaming Studios, Including Ninja Theory, As It Looks To Bolster First-Party Catalog

Microsoft has never had as many internal studios as Sony or Nintendo, and that has prevented it from having many first-party exclusives this generation. That changes today. From a report: At E3 trade show in Los Angeles on Sunday, the company's gaming chief Phil Spencer announced the creation of a new studio called The Initiative led by industry veteran Daryl Gallagher. He then followed up with revealing the Microsoft acquisitions of Ninja theory, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs. This bolsters the company's first-party efforts, and Spencer said it is evidence of his dedication to Xbox and its fans. Ninja Theory is best known for producing 2017's break out indie hit Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Playground has long overseen the Forza Horizon series for Microsoft. Compulsion is responsible for We Happy Few. Undead Labs created State of Decay. Also at E3, Microsoft teased Halo Infinite, and announced Forza Horizon 4. It also announced the availability of Automata, and unveiled FromSoft's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a new Battletoads game, new downloadable content for its exclusive platforming shooter Cuphead, a crossover game that features some of the biggest anime franchises, including Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, Devil May Cry 5 , a skating game called Session, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is hitting PC and consoles, Bethesda's Fallout 76, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and improvements to Xbox Game Pass.

Has Microsoft every bought a studio

[rsilvergun]

and not wrecked it? Come to think of it I can't think of any studios that survived a big buyout. Maybe Blizzard, but they were pretty huge when they got bought out so that boardered on being a merger. Bioware certainly didn't survive unscathed. ME4 stunk on ice and by all accounts Anthem is less an RPG and more a Destiny competitor (or clone if you're being mean).

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[Anonymous Coward]

game studios constantly rise and fall even without big company buyouts. They live on a knife edge where one failed release is bankruptry due to the insane costs around big budget games.

Re:Has Microsoft every bought a studio

[Anonymous Coward]

If anyone was ever interested in getting Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice DRM-free, I advise you to buy it now at GOG.com [gog.com] because Microsoft is undoubtedly going to yank it from sale there.

The summer sale is on right now, so it's only $20 until the 18th.

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[RyanFenton]

Anthem isn't really a Destiny 2 competitor. It has no PVP.

Anthem is more of a Monster Hunter competitor.

Which makes sense - since Destiny 2 is selling for $12, or for free in bundles now. Monster Hunter games do a LOT better.

Multiplayer-only focused games without loot boxes kind of die quick, outside a few exceptions (counterstrike, WOW). Single player with co-op focus tend to do a LOT better.

Every once in a while, big companies roll the dice on being the next WOW or equivalent, but the better odds are i

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[gman003]

Rare seems to still be doing okay. They haven't been cranking out hits as reliably as they did in the 90s, but neither have the devs who left Rare to start separate companies (Free Radical/Crytek UK had flubs like Haze, and Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee was a mixed bag).

Re: Has Microsoft every bought a studio

[danomac]

Just ask Lionhead Studios and the Fable franchise how it worked out for them.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Not all programming is equal. Some programming is better than other programming and programmers should be focused on programming programs.

Basically Microsoft buys LOTS of studios

[Chas]

And very VERY few of them actually survive.

Re:Basically Microsoft buys LOTS of studios

[Calydor]

What is the survival rate of a studio bought by Microsoft vs. one bought by EA?

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[Anonymous Coward]

I would guess it is about the same all over the board.
Game companies that are going well aren't for sale. If they are for sale they either have economic troubles or management issues and most likely both.
The larger companies buys them because they either want the IP or they think they know how to manage the company right.

All I cared about was the new fallout

[Hasaf]

I watched the presentation and was pleased to see a new fallout. I just hope it does not turn into the "building game" that they did in fallout 4.

MEh

[DarkRookie]

Not like those companies have really put anything out thats all that great.
A couple of middling Action/Adventure games is the best they have between the four of them.