@Jaxx420 there is nothing stopping these devs from starting a new studio with a different name and making the same types of games. Then as an indie developer they live by the same rules. Either the game sells and they can make another game. Or the game doesn't sell and the studio has to shut down for lack of funding. We've seen this many times over in this industry. It's sad but reality. All the studios said they sold to M$ for security and stability in an unstable market. Phil championed them, let them keep their individual cultures and let them continue to make the games they wanted to make. Phil is gone now and Satya is not going to allow this to continue.
@Elbow Pentiment and grounded made by 13 people. Double fine did that amnesia fortnight program which divided the studio into four small teams and they made prototypes. Best photos became full games. So they tried. Compulsions games is 98 people. Smaller than a lot of other studios. The problem is their games did not sell and did not increase gamepass subs. Tango game works was less than 100 people also. Same problem. Critically acclaimed good ratings. No one bought the games and they did not get people to buy subs. Phil said in 2024 that they spend 1 billion on third party content for gamepass. So 20% of the 5 billion it makes a year. Phil said most of that money goes to indie devs.
Gamepass and the 5-7 billion a year it brings in was able to fund all these creative new IP Microsoft's studios wanted to make. South of Midnight, Grounded, Kiln, Keeper, Pentiment, Avowed. If these games did not sell units, which they did not, game pass money could be used to cover the loses. Phil has alluded to this many times. He wanted to get deep into the Activision catalog but needed to increase gamepass subs before giving the green light to take the risks. All studios do this. For example, Resident evil and monster hunter sales allow Capcom to take a risk on kamitsu and pragmata. Once call of duty had lower sales it triggered the increase in gamepass prices. Gamepass subs dropped due to the higher price and now M$ is not going to fund new creative risky experiences anymore. It will be the big franchises and any mid tier franchise that has performed well like grounded.
Microsoft has had this management problem for years. The root of the problem is culturally Microsoft simply doesn't see people with the same value other corporations do. You're only value in the Nadella era is results. Increase in sales. Increase in subs. Quarterly results. Yearly results. No results means you're gone. The studios under pressure have critical acclaim but no results. It's that simple. You don't become trillion dollar company by constantly funding things that do not produce results. M$ spent 80 billion buying all these studios and IP. There is tremendous pressure to make that money back and more.
Comments 4
Re: Ori Creator Shares His Take On The Future Of Xbox's First-Party Strategy
@Jaxx420 there is nothing stopping these devs from starting a new studio with a different name and making the same types of games. Then as an indie developer they live by the same rules. Either the game sells and they can make another game. Or the game doesn't sell and the studio has to shut down for lack of funding. We've seen this many times over in this industry. It's sad but reality. All the studios said they sold to M$ for security and stability in an unstable market. Phil championed them, let them keep their individual cultures and let them continue to make the games they wanted to make. Phil is gone now and Satya is not going to allow this to continue.
Re: Ori Creator Shares His Take On The Future Of Xbox's First-Party Strategy
@Elbow Pentiment and grounded made by 13 people. Double fine did that amnesia fortnight program which divided the studio into four small teams and they made prototypes. Best photos became full games. So they tried. Compulsions games is 98 people. Smaller than a lot of other studios. The problem is their games did not sell and did not increase gamepass subs. Tango game works was less than 100 people also. Same problem. Critically acclaimed good ratings. No one bought the games and they did not get people to buy subs. Phil said in 2024 that they spend 1 billion on third party content for gamepass. So 20% of the 5 billion it makes a year. Phil said most of that money goes to indie devs.
Re: Ori Creator Shares His Take On The Future Of Xbox's First-Party Strategy
Gamepass and the 5-7 billion a year it brings in was able to fund all these creative new IP Microsoft's studios wanted to make. South of Midnight, Grounded, Kiln, Keeper, Pentiment, Avowed. If these games did not sell units, which they did not, game pass money could be used to cover the loses. Phil has alluded to this many times. He wanted to get deep into the Activision catalog but needed to increase gamepass subs before giving the green light to take the risks. All studios do this. For example, Resident evil and monster hunter sales allow Capcom to take a risk on kamitsu and pragmata. Once call of duty had lower sales it triggered the increase in gamepass prices. Gamepass subs dropped due to the higher price and now M$ is not going to fund new creative risky experiences anymore. It will be the big franchises and any mid tier franchise that has performed well like grounded.
Re: Ori Creator Shares His Take On The Future Of Xbox's First-Party Strategy
Microsoft has had this management problem for years. The root of the problem is culturally Microsoft simply doesn't see people with the same value other corporations do. You're only value in the Nadella era is results. Increase in sales. Increase in subs. Quarterly results. Yearly results. No results means you're gone. The studios under pressure have critical acclaim but no results. It's that simple. You don't become trillion dollar company by constantly funding things that do not produce results. M$ spent 80 billion buying all these studios and IP. There is tremendous pressure to make that money back and more.