
Yesterday, we got the surprise news that The Initiative would be partnering with Crystal Dynamics on the upcoming Perfect Dark game.
The Xbox studio said it was "incredibly excited" to work with the developer known for titles like Tomb Raider, and in response to this, Crystal Dynamics has shared its own message on social media about the new partnership.
It's "thrilled" to be involved - nothing how it thrives on "reimagining" iconic heroes.
Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, mentioned in his own message on Twitter yesterday, how he's equally as "thrilled" about the partnership.
As previously highlighted there's a lot of history between all of these companies. The Initiative was founded by the former Crystal Dynamics boss, and Microsoft had a special arrangement with Rise of the Tomb Raider - making it a timed exclusive on Xbox.
How are you feeling about this partnership a day later? Leave your thoughts down below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 34
Well or course everyone is thrilled they are not gonna say they are not.
Plus I guess they getting paid well for this partnership.
Really like the tomb raider games they have done done this should be a good idea.
I know I should not fuss it’s only video games
But Microsoft do concern me with studio management and game production.
When you really think about their organisation and we have only really FH5 as AAA after a year into a new generation and a small trailer for Starfield coming November 2022 and the Halo Infinite situation l, fingers crossed campaign wise, it doesn’t blow me away with confidence.
They have an amazing powerful great form factor console with every bell and whistle VRR, Dolby vision and atmos etc etc you could not ask for more there.
At the moment they have a F1 car but no race track to show it off on and engage the general public massively.
As much as gamepass is great value and their backwards compatibility cannot be beaten it doesn’t ignite the flair and must have product to the general masses.
In some ways the series s sitting on shelves all over Europe and the UK is a little sign of this.
Some European counties even have series x selling at a slower rate now.
In the UK series x does still sell out very quickly but series s sits on shelves.
I employee about 20 graduates and those into gaming as casuals mention PS5 as their next console and think HZDFW, GOW2 and even GT7, this is just my simple observation and only 20 people around 23 years old, but that shows me enough to know what console and more importantly games that are in the general publics mind.
Is this a damage control thing after initial mixed reaction when news broke out? Next step, janitors at Initiative and CD are psyched to work together and share fuse box spares..
On a more serious note, there is a lack of quality content on Series consoles currently. With their studio setup this could change in about a year, but at that point we'll be 2 and a half years into console lifespan and it might be already time to announce a mid generation upgrade.. Makes me glad I opted for Series S as my "backup" system and didn't target high performance X (realistically, wouldn't end up using it while it was still at the peak).
Good luck to all involved. Look forward to checking out what they come up with
Here's the thing, PlayStation utilised many studios in making their games and nobody batters an eye, when Xbox does it, the alarmists pour out and begin their incessant questioning and speculations "is this game in trouble, are Xbox failing?" As if this singular slice of news which shouldn't really be news has somehow dissolved all the other games and progress Xbox has already made. We can shout Avengers till we're red in the face but let's not pretend tomb raider wasn't amazing because it was, and let's not act like they're hasn't been a pandemic because their has, and let's not pretend the general narrative is almost always bias to Sony because it is. Perfect Dark is just one game of many in development and they can't all be oven ready, besides going by the consensus of those who are critical of this development it seems perfect Dark isn't even a worthy title, or even a good game, so why bother even getting your pants twisted over this, ahem, " news".
Honestly this is clearly being used as fodder for more negativity and needless criticisms by those who know NOTHING about the gaming industry or what it takes to make a game.
Frankly I'm tired of this saga. First it was Halo, but seems Halo are doing okay so look, over there, Perfect Dark time.
It's tragic.
@Serious_Snape
I think Microsoft get picked on because of an accumulation of things since series console release last November.
Halo campaign got showed went wrong and got delayed a year.
Series consoles released with zero AAA in house studio games and as of today still none.
A year later AAA in house wise we are about to get FH5, that’s good but it’s has taken a year for a AAA to turn up.
No Halo campaign footage all gone quiet.
Just Starfield shown for November 2022 AAA wise and only minimal footage.
No other real gameplay footage of AAA in house games for 2022.
Now look over at Sony and we won’t list the games since release of the console from in house studios but you know.
2022, lots of game play for HZDFW and GT7
With release dates.
GOW2 full game play footage with 2022 release date.
Forspoken full gameplay next spring looked good a third party exclusive.
No that’s why people get a Microsoft, just compare that with what Sony have done and showed also into 2022 and 2023.
Remember the size and money and power of Microsoft compared to Sony and it is frustrating to Xbox fans, I remember the Xbox360 glory days.
It’s like game wise premium vs second rate at the moment.
@Dezzy70 I still think it's odd how we have barely seen anything from halo campaign wise whilst the second? mp flight is already ongoing.
I'm not familiar with the way they normally market Halo but this is supposed to be about the biggest one they've made yet right? So certainly they can show us more after the disastrous campaign footage and the damage control screenshots 🤔
When I first heard the news I was pretty sceptical but the more I thought about it I liken it to the way Nintendo uses outside studios to partner with, Ubisoft, Koei Tecmo etc... and they've turned out well.
Even though I haven't played any PD games yet, the "eco thriller" in the near future setting has my mouth watering, I just hope now they have CD on board they dump first person and make it a full on explosive third person cinematic action adventure romp, something that can rival Sony's best.
Having just bought a ps5 I decided to get all of these exclusives from the PS4 that are brilliant that ps fans blab about because the way they go on about them you would think there are bucket loads
Turns out the reality is there is only a handful...and given the time span of the PS4...it makes you realise exclusives are not that important ...you average like 1 good exclusive a year lol(obviously people's opinions will differ before some one reals off the list of exclusives ...but alot of them are hardly must play)
So in a way im glad I never had a PS4 so now I've got a back log of a few good games to play lol
@StylesT I had a playstation 4 which I bought in 2016. From 2016 until 2020 I played just 8 exclusive games, out of those 8, there were only 4 that I actually enjoyed. It wasn't until mid 2020 that they decided to release 3 more big blockbuster Exclusives but by then I was barely using my PlayStation because of lack of time and money to spend on games. Alot of the times I bought a game but didn't enjoy it and had to sell it. This really put a stop to my gaming habit for a while. By the time the other 3 exclusives came out, I had given my PlayStation away to my sister because I didn't use it. In December 2020 I bought the series x and though I'm just a very casual gamer, I've played 66 games on it in 10 months whereas on the PlayStation I played 43 in 4 years.
It all depends on your play style and how much you are willing to spend on your hobby.
Is this still on? Jesus Christ this is sad. Halo will be awesome, Perfect Dark will be awesome, Fable and Redfall and Starfield and Cross fire and Stalker and Scorn and The Gunk and Forza and Outer worlds and Avaowed and Elder scrolls and whatever game is coming will be awesome. I know.some of you might not be use to the idea of Xbox doing well, but you're about to, because it's already happening. Xbox has already delivered Deathloop to Sony and it's golden.Game pass has served up Psychonaughts 2, Aragami 2, Sable, Flight simulator, artful escape, Wasteland 3, back 4 Blood next month, and many many more. Forza and Halo before the end is out, and the Gunk! Next year we're bound to have Deathloop ghost wire and redfall and Star field. Perfect Dark is not the entirety of Xbox, though some of you would like to think so
@Dezzy70 Gameplay and delays. Maybe if we see more Halo campaign we might get a delay. Maybe only show gameplay when it's literally about to come out.
@SplooshDmg
I hope it does get those 10/10 then I might have a new AAA series x game to play from Microsoft absence studio games.
Possible FH5 might do that though.
@SplooshDmg this is where MS future growth or stagnation truly lies… in the services they are offering. The exclusive games are coming soon and the stream of content is about to spring. People will debate quality, but with Bethesda in the reigns, it’s logical we’re going to get anywhere from a few to many awesome titles. But overall, market share is still reflective of regional taste. @Dezzy70 is probably correct about Europe and the UK still preferring PlayStation, but here in the US you can’t find a series console in the wild at all. What we will see, however, is if people start to casually latch on to streaming and get into the subscription model. It’s truly a remarkable thing they have done what they’ve done already with solid fidelity. Will people play their Destiny and COD and Battlefield on Xbox because of their flexibility, or will they stick to PS sitting at home with much less flexibility, but simple comfort in that environment? Will millions of people who are borderline casual get a simple subscription to play a few heavy hitters and have the flexibility and mobility offered by Xbox, or has the gamer market mostly stagnated and only really console owners will invest in gaming to this degree anyway? These are the questions that, to me, will determine success this generation.
They thought the announcement's gonna be a normal thing:
"Yea, we got Crystal Dynamics with us, on this one!"
And they thought fans'll be like:
"Ooh yea ... Tomb Raider vets gonna do a prrtty good Joanna Dark"
But instead, fans went like:
"Something's not right, I can feel it in muh bones ... Something or somebody screwed up .... oh dear"
All I hear is, "This game is years and years away. We were brought in because the Initiative were screwing up! See you in 2025!"
@SplooshDmg definitely agree! The options are what matters. It’ll definitely be interesting to see where we are in a few years.
@xMightyMatt14x
I think the vision you mention sounds good on paper and maybe the future who knows.
Internet infrastructure well needs to improve across countries.
I’m not sure if it will replace the average gamer and casuals standard box under the tv or hand held option in the switches case.
Most I know for now average casuals don’t give a dam about all that.
They want a box under the tv that plays amazing games or hand held, no streaming buy a disc, cartridge or even digital at a stretch.
I predict this for this new current generation and including Nintendo.
Sony, Nintendo up the top in console and games sold to the console attachment rate.
Xbox third with lowest rate attachment of third party games sold percentage wise and console wise.
Like I said the fact in Europe and UK series s is gather dust on shelf’s and even the series x is taking a little longer to sell, shows me currently this game pass, backwards compatibility and cloud streaming is not catching on that well.
It is not the system seller Xbox likes to think it is.
They need top end AAA games exclusives and need to build in word and mouth of those games and this could take this generation and at least another to over come Sony and Nintendo and their highly talked about exclusive games and reputation.
Microsoft had momentum with the 360, messed it up with the Xbox one and may never recover and catch the over two with their strong foothold, nostalgia and exclusive games.
@SplooshDmg
Thank you very much.
A factual and true sad story.
@Dezzy70 You're inaccurate and that's all I have to say to you.
@Dezzy70 I’m actually not talking about a streaming only future, but that the option provides flexibility which will be determinant in choice of brand for many. Like I said, current sales reflect regional trends. The US is MS heartland and the series consoles have gained tremendous ground here. Maybe they haven’t done so in the international market, though it seems they’ve gained at least a little back in Japan, but my overall point is about profit margin and growth as a company, not console sales.
Imagine if ps5 outsold XSX and S 3 to 2 (a reasonable guess considering at least SOME momentum has been gained back by MS) but when Starfield and elder scrolls release, let’s say 5 million people who really only play PlayStation get a gamepass sub for a couple months to play that game, either on PC or eventually a streaming app on TV. That’s $75 million going into MS pocket from non Xbox owners, on top of the people who already own an Xbox and will pay for the sub or the full game by choice. The potential lies far beyond console sales for MS to make profit and see growth. However, when HFW releases, you must be a PS console owner to play. There’s no outside option that may pull people in who haven’t taken the plunge to get a console. The idea is, theoretically, MS could sell far fewer consoles, and yet still see more people play one of their exclusive games than PS due to this setup. We’re only maybe a year from seeing the TV app available. It’s not unrealistic to think a few million people will download the app and pay an initial sub fee to try out a single player epic (where hyper responsive controls are not 100% necessary). The internet grid needs to improve, but most metropolises on earth (at least in the west) already offer decent enough speeds for a single player experience to work well enough like this. I live in a rural area that until recently only offered 100 mbps and streaming single player stuff was manageable the potential for drawing in that “well… I’ll try it” audience is very high for MS, whereas the barrier of entry for any non PS owner is much higher for a PS game. It’s not like 100 million people play Horizon or God of War. Even with their high sales, only 20 or 30 million try. But when a simple TV app is the only barrier of entry to try a game experience, it’s not unrealistic to think upwards of 50 million people might try a game. There are only a handful of consoles out there, but there are billions of smart TVs.
@Serious_Snape
I’m not.
What games have Xbox studios released AAA on the Xbox and pc that are exclusive since release, a flight simulator.
What have they show gameplay wise apart from FH5, what about 2022 a Starfield little trailer November 2022. Halo, who knows.
Sony.
Miles morales
Sack boy
Returnal
Astros playroom, free with console
God fall
Demon souls, ok a remake but a very good one
Ratchet and clank
Ghost of Tsushima, 10 hour dlc new island.
2022 with lots of real gameplay and release dates
Horizon forbidden west
GT7
Forspoken
God of war 2, only 2022 so not officially release date.
That is what a company on the ball with their studios and good management produce.
@Dezzy70 Mate, you're constantly repeating yourself, for what? Xbox series X is selling out like crazy in the UK, heaps of PS5's are filling CeX shelves, Series S is lacklustre in terms of anyone wanting next gen, but as for how the company is doing, they're doing great. Gamepass has over 20plus million subs and growing. Once Forza, Halo, Redfall, Deathloop, Ghost wire, and Starfield start landing, the numbers will grow even more. Your DIY statistics isn't really viable let alone accurate especially when the numbers are out there for all to read. Of course PS5 is selling more consoles but Microsoft ain't fighting a console war, they're knee deep in Gamepass. PC players are on the up, PC players buy games like Deathloop etc. The climate has changed, and within a year Xbox game pass will be full of content ranging from triple A to double A to experimental indies. I'm not sure what you're "worried" about haha, there's plenty of players and plenty of console owners to keep the train rolling. You mention Forza non stop but to some, a lot, they love Sable, Psychonaughts 2, Outerworlds, The ascent, the list goes on. You're projecting your own experience and interpretation as reality whereas really what you're saying isn't factual, it's speculative at best, deluded at worst.
Sony sign better than Xbox? That's up for debate but this generation has only just started.
Don't confuse your opinion as fact because really, it's not
@xMightyMatt14x
You share that grand Microsoft vision which is cool. And Microsoft are the only ones that can afford to try it which is fine.
When it all pays off and becomes the future
And the others Sony and Nintendo jump on board
Then let me know.
All I went is new AAA games to play and Microsoft are not giving that right now.
Let’s see what they do and what quality they bring in the future.
Because so far and I’m assuming until game releases Forza Horizon 5 is the only one that could be up there.
@Dezzy70 also, that list is terrible hahaha. bad games
@Hellosmoothskin
When Microsoft produce some top end AAA games I will play them until then they can keep their cheap gaming old games
Backwards compatibility and old enhanced games.
The only game is Forza Horizon 5, that hopefully will do the business.
Xbox will be outsold and end up third and have the lowest third party attachment rate of games sold on their consoles of every single month of every single year. The gap increases every month over the competition, simple fact. About another 80 thousand the gap grew last week.
I'm glad Dezzy has just fully come out as a troll now. No more mask. Sony fanboy on here to start *****. I hope the admin bans him
@Dezzy70 Such a terrible troll. Why don't you ***** your PlayStation instead of prowling xbox sites looking for arguments
@DezzY7
Go look at my first post right at the start of this post the first one.
It was sensible and fine with just opinion and some observers I had made and my own personal gripe at Microsoft.
It’s Xbox fan boys on here that get all upset about fact and truth and can’t stand anyone being honest about Xbox and Microsoft and then they start getting at me.
For you official information I have owned every single Xbox since release and on every single release day and also probably every other single other console.
As long as it's still a Perfect Dark game, I'm cool with this. Crystal D makes good single player experiences, even the campaign for Avengers was good. But this game has to be a shooter of some sort, have objectives to chase, multiple ways to play, etc. If it's another third person adventure, live service game, oh crap. I will avoid the internet for weeks, lol.
@DezzY7
I even praise Microsoft for the series x console they have made and also the great value of game pass.
My gripe was about no first party AAA games since release of the console and not much shown real game play wise going forward.
Also an observation of series s consoles sitting on shelves in the UK not selling, that’s is fact go look.
Then my observation of my 20 graduates and what games and console they talked about getting.
@Dezzy70 are we really back to making lists with games that haven’t released yet? Or games like Ghost with added DLC?
Because Gears 5 had the Hivebusters campaign. As well as Gears Tactics came out last year. And using Forspoken means we can put Stalker 2 on the Xbox side.
Also, I could point out Redfall was leaked with Alpha Footage or the fact Forza Motorsport 8 had closed play test earlier this year. No we haven’t seen it but it’s Motorsport, I know what the Gameplay is going to be.
Anyway waffling when we are literally a month and a half from two big drops is baffling to me.
I don’t think either company has had a brilliant output and making lists with third party, unreleased, and DLC?
Look it’s okay to be critical but let’s not dress up our dogs to look like show ponies.
Tbh, I think they'll do a hell of a job.
@mousieone
Hivebusters was great on the series x the graphical effects of the blue light off the hanging flowers to the gears suits was perfection.
Wished it had lasted longer and looking forward to more.
Really thought the finally boss fight was something special.
Won’t mention it directly, spoilers for those that haven’t played it yet.
See I do love Xbox, I just lived through their best period the 360 days and need that back again to rekindle my flame for them.
When you see and touch and feel the games and console you loved get torn from inside the company business it hurts and get frustrating, knowing what they had and could of continued being. Let hope the Xbox resurrection of the 360 days starts with FH5 the best racing series ever made. And massive fingers crossed Halo campaign December.
See this is the real me the real passion for games.
@Dezzy70 You got room for another employee?
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