Last week, we shared some comments from Windows Central's Jez Corden who highlighted that, despite not having any hard evidence, he believed "there's a very good chance" of at least one new Xbox acquisition in the works.
Since then, Microsoft has hinted that it has "more than 23 studios worldwide," appearing to suggest that an acquisition could be announced very soon, and there have been some teases that up to three new studios might be revealed.
VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb has also added his thoughts on this in recent hours, stating that the rumours he's heard on the topic are "all over the place" and he's far from confident about this, but he's heard that Hitman developer IO Interactive, Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios and Crysis developer Crytek could be involved.
As we say, all of these reports have been reluctant to confirm anything thus far, so there's every chance the acquisitions could be different, there could be less of them, or there might not even be an acquisition on the cards at E3 2021.
We'll find out for definite this Sunday!
Do you think Xbox will have an acquisition to share at E3 2021 this weekend? Let us know down below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 42
damn, sunday is still soooo far away, can't wait to view the show =)
Well, E3 should be very interesting this year. Can't wait, it begins tomorrow!
Eventually they'll acquire our very minds into the Xbox matrix I would love to see Xbox get Sega, I'm still a little sour over what happened to Dreamcast.
Man if Microsoft announces three studio acquisitions at E3 then that would be absolutely incredible. Imagine getting the next James Bond game exclusive to Xbox, or the next Just Cause or potentially even a sequel to Ryse.
At this point I actually don't see this as a positive.. too many studios under their banner will halt gaming market in general, impacting progress of other platforms (monopoles are worse for consumers, aka. us). Also, Xbox should try to focus on what they have (a LOT), polish and publish things out the door for me to start using my Series console for something next gen and unique.
@Cikajovazmaj
It depends on the studios I think.
If they acquire struggling studios that perhaps don't have the budget to make big new AAA games, but they have the talent, then that's a huge win for both parties.
If they go and buy a Square Enix or an Ubisoft, then we are entering the monopoly territory, which isn't good for anyone.
@Cikajovazmaj Don't really see how this is bad for consumers. All first-party games will be added on Game Pass, which means that you only need to pay a minimum of €10 to play them when they come out compared to PlayStation where first-party titles are €80 with no cheaper option. Not to mention that if you are owned by Microsoft, you'll be making games for the Game Pass service, which means that companies don't need to feel pressured by stakeholders in order to reach deadlines and so on. You know how games often release rushed and broken at launch? This won't happen anymore with Xbox studios because they can take their time with their projects, not to mention have more creative freedom in order to create more unique experiences.
As for Xbox should focus on what they have, the whole point of acquiring studios is to reach the goal of releasing at least one first-party title on Game Pass each quarter: https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/06/xbox_wants_to_release_a_new_first-party_game_every_quarter
In order to reach this goal, Microsoft is going to need a lot of studios, so it only makes sense for them to keep acquiring more. This in turn will lead to consumers experiencing less "droughts" in first-party releases as we'll be consistently getting new games throughout the year.
No matter how you twist and turn this, this is very positive for us consumers.
@LtSarge was thinking the same about a Ryse sequel. That’d be awesome!
@blinx01 "It depends on the studios I think.
If they acquire struggling studios that perhaps don't have the budget to make big new AAA games, but they have the talent, then that's a huge win for both parties
It depends on the studios I think.
If they acquire struggling studios that perhaps don't have the budget to make big new AAA games, but they have the talent, then that's a huge win for both parties"
This is a GREAT take! Well said.
If true and those three become Xbox studios that is one hell of a impressive portfolio of studios to own in total. Maybe a AAA in house game per quarter each year is feasible.
There's been rumours about Asbo. Acquiring Asbo, IO Interactive and Avalanches Studios, combined with the 23 they already have would just be beastly. Imagine the games these studios can add to game Pass. We can get Hitman, 007, Flight Simulator, Elders Scroll, Mad Max, Starfield...so many games.
If this is even remotely true, then this will be GREAT news, and I welcome any initiative that will strengthen the position of the Xbox platform in the video gaming sector, so I'm all for it.
I'm tired of acquiring studios. We need games out of the studios they already have. Denying other gamers games doesn't get me excited, pushing the Series X to its limits with a first party exclusive does.
IO is an odd one as they only just went independent from Square (I think).
The whole more studios one is odd as if Xbox do get a monopoly could lead to worse games, but competition is a good thing.
Really though all these studios be it 23 or 26, I want to see the games now.
@masofdas I agree. Sunday is a big deal for Xbox. They really have to show some results as opposed to future promises. Acquisitions are interesting and can be exciting but we definitely need to see some games coming in the next few months.
I fall into the camp of seeing this as good news. More games from Xbox = more competition for the industry, which hopefully results in better games for all of us (and, wishful thinking, but maybe even more competitive pricing on consoles and games?).
@Bdbrady I'm so with you on that. They really need to show us some games from all these studios they have already. And I mean gameplay, with target release dates. I really could care less about them buying anything right now.
@Bdbrady
“Denying other gamers games doesn't get me excited”
That should work for both ways.
They nearly bought WB Games. Imagine those as MS Exclusives. Insane. Also, what are TT Games doing? They've not released Lego games for ages 😂😂
Seriously though, MS should break the internet by buying Valve & announcing Half Life 3.
I want Microsoft to acquire IO for one simple selfish reason: there are so many versions of Hitman 3 in the Xbox Store that I simply don't know how to purchase them (Free Starter Pack, Standard, Deluxe, Trinity Pack, Access Pass for Hitman 1 & 2, separate DLC's for each level... WTF!). Going straight to Game Pass would surely make things easier.
Spiders (Greedfall). Interesting studios with a lot of potential but lack of funding.
People expecting it to be like another Bethesda-level acquisition will probably be disappointed
They seem to target mostly smaller developers or publishers that still have the variety they want to bolster the Xbox first party portfolio. I'm not expecting something like SEGA or Square. Maybe Moon Studios or Studio MDHR?
It's a huge shame that all these rumours seem to be about acquiring studios and not about Xbox actually releasing games. Crazy how the current Xbox game drought makes the Wii U era game droughts seem like an oasis.
If you can't beat the competition then buy the competition, reminds me of Manchester City 😂
Also just a thought, US courts stopped Sony from buying more anime distribution studios due to ruining the competition and trying to be the only one on the market, so at what point do the courts intervene with Microsoft buying game developers and limiting them to their platform away from the competitors. Because when it gets past 30 than that's just ridiculous
Whilst even just one of those great studio's would be a great and welcome addition to the MS team, I won't even begin to get excited until I hear official confirmation.
Of those 3 mentioned, I think that Crytek offers the most to Xbox with the Cryengine and, unless I am mistaken, more of a record of partnering with MS. IO interactive have probably made the 'bigger' games of late with the success of the Hitman reboot trilogy but having recently departed Square Enix, I don't know if they would be interested in joining MS.
Avalanche have made some 'decent' games too, maybe not as polished as they could be - but still 'decent'. Of the 3 though, these could be the most 'realistic' with the issues at WB right now...
With AAA games taking 4yrs+ - especially if built from scratch and with a major Pandemic disrupting the last year or so, I appreciate its going to take time to see the 'fruits' of all these acquisitions. Quite a few studio's also had 'multi-platform' projects in development too so had to get those out before making 'exclusives'.
Compulsion - joined in 2018 - released We Happy Few a month later - Unknown what they have been working on since
Double Fine - Joined 2018 - Working on Psychonauts 2 and released RAD in 2019
The Initiative - founded in 2018 - building up a studio and now confirmed to be making Perfect Dark
InXile - joined in 2018 - finished Wasteland 3 and some DLC which released in 2020 - Working on a 1st person RPG?
Ninja Theory - joined in 2018 - Released Bleeding Edge 'exclusive' in 2020 and working on Hellblade 2 & Project Mara
Obsidian - Joined in 2018 - released Grounded 'Exclusive' in 2020, finished and released Outer Worlds & DLC, working on Avowed
Playground - Joined 2018 - released Forza Horizon 4 exclusively in 2018 and confirmed to be making Fable
Undead Labs - Joined 2018 - released State of Decay 2 in 2018 exclusively and working on the third in the franchise.
That's without the Bethesda acquisition or the games from Rare, 343, Coalition, Turn 10 or Mojang (who seem to be multi-platform anyway). Rare have Everwild, 343 have Halo Infinite and Turn 10 have Forza Motorsport. I am sure the Coalition will do 'Gears 6' at some point but may make something different before as they 'experiment' with UE5. They did do DLC for 5 and of course Gears Tactics. We also have Flight Sim coming soon too.
Part of the reason we haven't seen many 'exclusives' is because they had to honour other deals and commitments. We do have some upcoming 3rd party 'exclusives' (timed or otherwise) with Scorn, Warhammer: Darktide, STALKER2, CrossfireXL, The Gunk etc too.
This is 'before' Sunday and any additions/updates...
@UltimateOtaku91 currently Xbox is 3rd place in the console game market, hence I don't think we're anywhere near a monopoly.
However, if videogames move towards the cloud and subscription services like Game Pass, Xbox could very well become a very dominant player — and Microsoft is definitely striving for that. It's a shame that Google Stadia is not trying to seriously compete on that area.
@UltimateOtaku91 I personally consider both of those markets to be rather different. The market for anime streaming services is closer to an oligopoly while the gaming market is more akin to a monopolistic competition with hundreds of actors. Keep in mind that besides the more well-known companies, there are hundreds of indie developers. Even if Microsoft would acquire seven more studios it would barely affect the gaming market as a whole.
Simply put, the whole argument that Microsoft is monopolising the gaming market is a hyperbole if I've ever seen one.
@UltimateOtaku91 I'd imagine that this is relative.
With the purchase of Bethesda (which was a big deal unto itself and needed approval), there are still dozens of different publishers for a dev to choose. And buying a dev would be less of an issue because there are hundreds of them. If MS started trying to buy up Acti, EA, THQ, 2K etc, and seriously reduced competition then it would be an issue.
Sony, through funimation, trying to buy up one of the few competitors to them for disturbing anime in the west, brings up concern.
@UltimateOtaku91 I was JUST thinking this!
Super hyped for the Sunday E3 show. I remember how happy I was when they bought Ninja Theory out of the blue a couple of years back. New games, new companies... Already typing this comment has got me excited again!
@UltimateOtaku91 I was thinking the same thing reminds me of that Simpsons episode where homer makes that startu internet company Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net & bill gates comes & 'buys him out' 😂
As a multiplatform gamer, I'd love to see a massive power play like Capcom or Sega being snapped up. Something like that would shake up the entire industry forever. As huge as the Bethesda deal is, seeing things like Sonic or Resident Evil tied to one platform would change the entire gaming landscape.
@__jamiie I really want Sony to acquire capcom I love the resident evil series & I think it would do well under Sony
@UltimateOtaku91 all these studios combined have a small marketshare so there's no reason for any intevention. it doesn;'t matter hwo many studios you buy, if you keep buying studios with low sales
@MaseSco TT Games been working on the new Lego Star Wars game that is being given, for the first time, a triple A treatment, therefore taking a lot longer to come out.
@UltimateOtaku91 Neither IOI Interactive, Avalanche Studios nor Crytek compete with Xbox, but your anxiety is duly noted. 😎
Stop it. Annoying.
@LtSarge monopolies are always bad for consumers. Large companies are not your friends. Why do fanboys always think they are?
I'm all for this. My dream wish is for Xbox to get Sega. Capcom would never sell, simply because they made themselves bigger because of the ps. Although money speaks quite loudly, I don't see capcom ever joining Xbox. I'm surprised Nintendo has not tried to buy them up.
@LtSarge indies and smaller studios.. are small and not able to move the needle in the global market. As much as somebody like me supports indie gaming, I'm well aware of how small the market is compared to AAA gaming space.
As for monopoly, one needs to read into basics of economics to understand why no company is giving away money today, without a plan to return investment through controlled monopolized market tomorrow...
@AgentGuapo This acquisitions would not constitute a monopoly, nor did he/she ever imply we're Microsoft's friends. You're venting here.
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