Xbox Acquisition |OT2| Something, Something, Snowball Effect

[AllianceOfficer]

https://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=cd7bd50af265d525&from=serp

This is the second one they’re adding in 2 months, the other listing was filled in a couple days.

[YoungGrumpyMan]

@peter42O

If Sony doesn’t end up acquiring Housemarque, I wish Microsoft would. Give them two teams. An AAA single player third person story driven team but without the roguelike elements and a smaller AA team for their isometric and 2D twin stick shooters. I want DINONATION damn it!!! I would be super thrilled and happy if this was to happen.

Clearly Housemarque loves making these kinds of games so I wouldn’t really like their owners to dictate what they should or shouldn’t do. And Xbox has been somewhat recognized by the amount of laissez-faire and creative freedom they are giving to their newly-purchased teams. I wouldn’t want a studio at Xbox to feel constrained to make one type of game or the other just because of arbitrary sales figures, that’s the opposite direction in which they’re going with Game Pass.

[peter42O]

@YoungGrumpyMan

Clearly Housemarque loves making these kinds of games so I wouldn’t really like their owners to dictate what they should or shouldn’t do. And Xbox has been somewhat recognized by the amount of laissez-faire and creative freedom they are giving to their newly-purchased teams. I wouldn’t want a studio at Xbox to feel constrained to make one type of game or the other just because of arbitrary sales figures, that’s the opposite direction in which they’re going with Game Pass.

Housemarque loves making twin stick shooters and platformers. They stopped because they weren’t making any money. Returnal is more of what Sony wanted them to do than Housemarque themselves.

Doing both would be great. You get a main single player third person story driven game but without the rogue elements hopefully which is what I prefer AND their awesome twin stick isometric shooters and platforms which I also love and these smaller AA games could fill the gaps in between big AAA releases on Game Pass.

Everyone wins!!!

[javycane (Javier Ruiz)]

@peter42O

They stopped because they weren’t making any money.

This is correct so I dont blame them for going in another direction with Returnal.

[YoungGrumpyMan]

@peter42O

Housemarque loves making twin stick shooters and platformers. They stopped because they weren’t making any money. Returnal is more of what Sony wanted them to do than Housemarque themselves.

https://housemarque.com/news/2021/4/28/housemarques-new-awesome-arcade-action-game-released-tomorrow-4slkn-dw2na?format=amp&__twitter_impression=true

In the age when game publishers are taking less and less creative risks, we are truly thankful to our publishing partner Sony, who has given us an opportunity to work on something very risky and has given fantastic support during the whole project. We are forever grateful for having this opportunity.

By this article they look really happy with the Sony support, and it doesn’t look like they were bossed around, although this could just be PR speak, of course.

[peter42O]

@javycane

This is correct so I dont blame them for going in another direction with Returnal.

Yep.

@YoungGrumpyMan

By this article they look really happy with the Sony support, and it doesn’t look like they were bossed around, although this could just be PR speak, of course.

I don’t know if they were bossed but changing to what Sony’s blueprint is kinda tells you it’s more Sony than Housemarque. If their old games made money, I don’t think that they would have changed anything and instead, stayed with what they love to do.

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@YoungGrumpyMan

By this article they look really happy with the Sony support, and it doesn’t look like they were bossed around, although this could just be PR speak, of course.

I have already stated in the past that Sony is not there waiving an iron fits and explicitly dictating the games that have to be made. It is probably a lot more nuanced and developers already knowing what type of games have a higher chance of getting greenlight and so only go to Sony with them.

In regards to the game being risky, in some ways it is because bullet hell type games typically don’t sell a ton, as Housemarque know well. But the game does still follow familiar tropes that have proven to be successful, so they have made it less risky at the same time, which is nothing wrong with that by the way.

[Knottian (Daniel)]

@Biggzy

I have already stated in the past that Sony is not there waiving an iron fits and explicitly dictating the games that have to be made. It is probably a lot more nuanced and developers already knowing what type of games have a higher chance of getting greenlight and so only go to Sony with them.

In regards to the game being risky, in some ways it is because bullet hell type games typically don’t sell a ton, as Housemarque know well. But the game does still follow familiar tropes that have proven to be successful, so they have made it less risky at the same time, which is nothing wrong with that by the way.

I mean we just had that bombshell of a report that, aside from most of it being non-surprising in Sony’s AAAA walk and talk focus for their output, directly confirmed that Sony has dictated what a number of their studios can and cannot do. It’s not a debatable point anymore as far as I’m concerned, for those that think otherwise. Like you said though, they can dictate in more nuanced ways than the hammer fall that was described in the Schreier article.

[MonkeyBoyFrancis]

@YoungGrumpyMan

In the age when game publishers are taking less and less creative risks, we are truly thankful to our publishing partner Sony, who has given us an opportunity to work on something very risky and has given fantastic support during the whole project. We are forever grateful for having this opportunity.

By this article they look really happy with the Sony support, and it doesn’t look like they were bossed around, although this could just be PR speak, of course.

I would actually say that it is exactly PR speak in response to the last few weeks. The same with their announcement of a partnership with Firewalk studios to combat the lack of studios talk.

Especially since we’ve learned

• The Uncharted game isn’t happening.
• Sony Japan just collapsed.
• The Last of Us 3 isn’t in production…so its 5-6 years away
• Days Gone 2 was canned and Bends next game is just as far away

[javycane (Javier Ruiz)]

@MonkeyBoyFrancis

The Uncharted game isn’t happening.

I thought it was said that This is happening just that Bend asked to be taken off this project.

[LucasTaves]

@Roronoa_Zoro90

It’s clear as day that MS is looking for major IPs to bolster their exclusive offering and to shut down forever the known stupid narrative, they already bough 7-8 single small to medium sized studios in order to grow them and with little IPs attached, then they bought the biggest private owned publisher on Earth (or close) with huge IPs attached, so it’s clear their strategy has shifted. Moreover, several credible Xbox insiders have said many times that Matt Boory is at his operational limit with 15 studios to oversee, is more than Sony and Nintendo first parties already so without considering Bethesda.

EDIT: I double checked on Steam for confirmation and Just Cause is owned by Square Enix as I said.

To add to this Bethesda won’t be managed by Booty, it will mimick the XGS structure but will be managed by another guy that I forgot the name

But Bethesda can grow yet. And depending on the region instead of adding to the current XGS structure they could also create a new publishing arm from the ground arm (and there are job postings from a few years back indicating that they were doing this for Japan for example) which can also expand outside of Booty’s management.

And of course, they could in theory incorporate another publisher, the way they are doing by keeping the redundant arms separated instead of trying to consolidate everything means they could in theory add more publishing arms horizontally to that organization.

[LucasTaves]

@YoungGrumpyMan

In the age when game publishers are taking less and less creative risks, we are truly thankful to our publishing partner Sony, who has given us an opportunity to work on something very risky and has given fantastic support during the whole project. We are forever grateful for having this opportunity.

By this article they look really happy with the Sony support, and it doesn’t look like they were bossed around, although this could just be PR speak, of course.

On top of what Don cabesa said, I imagine that also the pressure and goals are different for external projects.

Consolidating the internal teams on their big franchises and using external development to keep the more risky and diverse projects is quite common in this industry.

[Roronoa_Zoro90]

@LucasTaves

And of course, they could in theory incorporate another publisher, the way they are doing by keeping the redundant arms separated instead of trying to consolidate everything means they could in theory add more publishing arms horizontally to that organization.

Yeah, imo if they ever acquire another single studio, it will be folded into Bethesda arm, not XGS.

[Knottian (Daniel)]

@LucasTaves

… To add to this Bethesda won’t be managed by Booty, it will mimick the XGS structure but will be managed by another guy that I forgot the name But Bethesda can grow yet. And depending on the region instead of adding to the current XGS structure they could also create a new publishing arm from the ground arm (and there are job postings from a few years back indicating that they were doing this for Japan for example) which can also expand outside of Booty’s management. And of course, they could in theory incorporate another publisher, the way they are doing by keeping the redundant arms separated instead of trying to consolidate everything means they could in theory add more publishing arms horizontally to that organization.

Pete Hines is the man you’re thinking of

[MonkeyBoyFrancis]

@javycane

I thought it was said that This is happening just that Bend asked to be taken off this project.

Nah. Based on schriers article:

• Sonys secret San Diego team wanted to remake Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. They were about 30 people with hopes to grow to an actual studio.

• Herman Hulst convinced them to remake The Last of Us instead as it would require less work.

• That project was taken over by Naughty Dog as it was deemed over budgeted and the Secret San Diego team has disbanded, they work support for Naughty Dog now

• Days Gone 2 was canned in 2019, at some point after, Bend were told to work on an Uncharted game

• Bend didn’t want to become Naughty Dog North and are now starting over on a non-Uncharted non-Days Gone project last month.

So as of right now

• No Uncharted
• No Days Gone 2
• Naughty Dogs next games are the much delayed TLOU2 multiplayer and a remake of TLOU1…which is frankly a terrible mismanagement.

[javycane (Javier Ruiz)]

@MonkeyBoyFrancis

Doesnt this imply there is a new Uncharted in development and Bend was there helping to make it but they decided to be taken off?

[MonkeyBoyFrancis]

@javycane

Doesnt this imply there is a new Uncharted in development and Bend was there helping to make it but they decided to be taken off?

Naughty Dogs not making Uncharted. They already said 4 was the absolute last they would make.

Bend was under their supervision (and another team the multiplayer for TLOU2), them being taken off the project is the game being effectively cancelled.

You could probably stretch to say …“Well Sony will find another dev to do it”…and maybe they will, but since Bend was on it up to a month ago, they won’t have one right now.

My saying regarding modern AAA development is “unless you have a studio dedicated to an IP, that IP will not get made”

[YoungGrumpyMan]

So how many teams does IOI currently have?

[javycane (Javier Ruiz)]

@YoungGrumpyMan

So how many teams does IOI currently have?

3

[javycane (Javier Ruiz)]

@MonkeyBoyFrancis

Naughty Dogs not making Uncharted. They already said 4 was the absolute last.

Bend was under their supervision (and another team the multiplayer for TLOU2), them being taken off the project is the game being effectively cancelled.

You could probably stretch to say …“Well Sony will find another dev to do it”…and maybe they will, but since Bend was on it up to a month ago, they won’t have one right now.

Thanks man

I thought ND was leading UC and Bend was supporting