Microsoft: Considering buying more Xbox Game Studios; More investment into Game Pass to come; Bethesda will run semi-independently

If MS does make one more big purchase, maybe Bungie will be a bit more reasonable with their price. I don’t see Sega ever happening but a GP deal is more realistic for Yakuza and Persona and maybe older Sega IP’s

But then I really don’t want to see them get any other big publishers. As others have said independent studios starting with Asobo is really the way to go.

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tbh im bored of bungie just seeing destiny trailers lmao, I really don’t think spending billions on them is the way to go. There’s so much else that can be done with that money.

the thing is sony has no reason for making a move like this. They live and die by their blockbusters and are doing fine, and aren’t self admittedly willing to make a game pass like service, something this move (and every other one moving forward) is particularly tailored for.

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I would think its more the fact that Microsoft has learned how acqustions work on a larger scale and bring them into Microsoft doesn’t work as well. Look at what happened with skype. Sometime its better to buy them and then let them still operate more independently.

Then Sony should quit their nonsense of timed exclusives or just ease down with that but according to insiders they made deals with big players in the industry. As long as Sony keeps that up I don’t think MS will slow down. The thing is, Sony plays it small with timed exclusives and MS plays it big by outright buying the company. Before buying Zenimax they had only been acquiring medium sized studios, but maybe from here on out they intend to buy bigger ones?

I see your point though. No company should have a monopoly position , competition is good. Going by what Spencer has said it seems they believe in that multiple companies in this industry can exist and be successful. I have seen folks wishing for Sony to buy Take Two, but can they actually?

I have to agree with. The price for Zenimaxx could be justified because not only are you getting crazy talented devs, you’re also getting the Id tech engine which is insane and also getting a boat load of IP’s including some of the biggest ei Doom, Fallout, TES and others. You’re also getting one of the biggest MMO’s around with TESO.

For the price that Bungie is asking, even if its a billion you’re basically getting Destiny and…Destiny …and obviously whatever else Bungie is making

But recently 4A games was bought by THQ for 45 million USD. A high quality and talented developer.

For the price of Bungie, MS could spend probably significantly less and buy Asobo, Bloober Team, Dontnod, Techland and IO interactive and they would get Plague’s Tale, Medium, Dying Light and Hitman as IP’s

Seems obvious which deal is better

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Ubisoft…it’s almost too good of a fit.

You also retain the talent as well.

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Bethesda Zenimax was a crazy great deal way better than bungie and wb games frankly

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as I already said, hopefully this just means acquiring those with whom they already have a good history with, and not just some arbitrary corporate speak about how they both share the same beliefs and culture and so on and just grab whatever they see fit. So under that, I’m thinking Asobo(goes back to kinect era collaborations and now Flight Sim), Bloober (Tango kinda already fills in that niche though but they can bring in something), Dontnod (episodic nature of their games fit game pass almost too perfectly lol).

and the WB deal wouldn’t even come with the IPs lol, the studios were extremely talented though, good that AT&T realized they were making a dumbass mistake even considering selling them.

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Microsoft are playing the long game and already looking far into the future. They are not looking to recoup their outlay in the next 5 yrs I would bet. They are investing with the goal of being in a position content wise far ahead of anyone else that wants to try and muscle in with their own service. They obviously see massive potential in it, and know that owning the content that you put on there is key.

I can easily see them making another big purchase to try and get into a position where a large % of the content belongs to them. They already have enough studios working on 3 yr dev cycles to have a AAA game releasing every 3 months, and that would still leave them their RPG studios. Throw in an RPG a year and their service becomes unmissable. Adding more studios and content only strengthens their service.

Like it or not, their strategy is becoming clear.

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Of course they will still run semi-independently. That exact same thing has been done with all the previous studio acquisitions. I watched someone from one of the acquired studios (I don’t know if it was Tim Schafer) saying that some people on his studio got a bit frustrated because after the acquisition they expected to be integrated in this big Microsofty thing…and that just didn’t happened. They are working the same way and their working environment is the same.

Really, this isn’t anything new.

Seems like their access to resources, funding, talent pool, tech all has gone way up. Also seems like the studios ha e started to get new buildings and locations. Interesting though about their perspective.

They have been given independence for all their acquisitions, but still good to know that even such a big sized one is still managed the same

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It’s a bit different this time since its a publishers with a lot of studios at the same time who share a history together. All I’m saying is that creating a “block” of old Bethesda-studios within Xbox Game Studios is not a good idea in the long run.

They were complaining Xbox didn’t have games and now they are begging to be spared lol make up your mind people, now it is too late

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Yes, the change is on improvement, but the studio culture is kept the same. It has been with all the previous acquisitions, it won’t be different for Zenimax/Bethesda.

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It’s a bit different, but it’s not, at the same time. Zenimax acquired studios on different times and they are on different geographical locations, as XGS are too. Maybe it will take a little longer for them to be integrated, but I don’t see them being treated differently from all the other Xbox Game Studios. And that doesn’t mean to change their culture, as it was not the case with Ninja Theory, Double Fine and so on.

Yeah I think we agree, I just want them to be seen as individual XGS. But like you point out, they are spread out and joined at different times etc. so it will probably be the case naturally.

Fuck yeah!!! Let’s go!!! More More More lol

Seriously, publisher or development studio, if it makes sense and fits, then by all means, go out and get them. We’ve all asked Spencer and Microsoft to be more aggressive, well here you go. I for one am very much looking forward to it all.

I’m not loyal to any brand or company and while I was a PS4 guy (and Xbox 360 guy before that), since March, I have been all in with Xbox Series X as my primary gaming console because they’re doing things that are far more beneficial to me personally.

I no longer have to take a $60+ chance on a first party title from now any of the 22 studios and instead can give them a shot day one for a $10 monthly rental. Freaking awesome!!!

I’m sure Sony will make a few acquisitions of their own (I believe that they’ve acquired or will acquire Bluepoint Games and Housemarque) which is also perfectly fine by me and also great for me. Plus, I don’t want to see Amazon, Google or Tencent acquire publishers or development studios that would be better suited for Xbox or PlayStation.

I say give me more, more and more. Whooooooooo!!! So freaking hyped!!!

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