It’s hard to get good market share data on PC game sales, but Steam’s market share is estimated to be 50-70%. Epic is about 15% (according to Tim Sweeney). Add in EA, Ubisoft, Riot, Battle.net, the Windows game store, etc and GOG simply can’t be very big. I would be shocked if it’s over 10% and it’s probably closer to 5%.
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A lot of people classified cloud gaming as a distribution method. There are dozens of cloud gaming providers on PC, all with different consumption models. This in my opinion means the PC storefront options have drastically increased and are projected to durther increase with more cloud gaming offerings.
Im not sure GOG would really raise concerns as a result. If it was a potential issue and CDPR was looking to sell, they could shutter or sell it ahead of an aquisition.
I’m trying to find the YouTube video where some guy creates a sort of AI tool, places all the gaming industry’s acquisition details (company, location, games created, sales, tier of franchise etc) and asks it who Xbox will likely go for next.
The answer was Sega for Xbox & Square for Sony.
The channel was very small and I saw it about a year ago.
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There are certain studios MS should buy and lock down, Certain Affinity ,Asobo and IO interactive come to mind
But MS could probably get a steady flow of content by doing publishing deals with studios like People Can Fly without having to buy them out entirely. With a $50M budget Im not expecting a super high end AAA game but if its something of Bulletstorm quality it doesnt have to be either.
Theres alot of new studios that are being headed by veteran developers. Former Bioware devs started a studio called “Thats No Moon” if I were Matt Booty I would reach out and offer to finance and publish the game
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Man, I know so many people don’t want Xbox to go down that route but just Asobo, CD, Eidos and IOI would make a massive difference to how people perceive Xbox. A few more of those cinematic style third person games would be incredible to sprinkle among their already heavy RPG/FPS lineup. I really do feel Xbox need a few of these studios, if they don’t get them we know Sony will eventually acquire them. There’s not many studios like them which aren’t already in a major publisher either!
CDPR although amazing may be overkill as they would practically own every major WRPG studio.
Even though I see them as another FPS studio, I wouldn’t say no to PCF! Bulletstorm and Gears of War Judgement are two of my favourite games.
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I agree, I even made a topic about this a while back:
Unfortunately with That’s No Moon I believe I read reports that both PlayStation and Smilegate had already heavily invested in them.
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Sorry wrong studio
Humanoid studios is the studio that Casey Hudson founded, thats a studio MS should partner up with asap
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If MS buys in Poland I can see them buying the big 3 CDPR, Techland and PCF
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Their website states they have an unprecedented partnership with Smilegate that has invested a 100m in them. Have never read anything about Sony investing in them though.
Xbox maintains very good relations with certain studios and publishers who share the same values and who will contribute to the development of a coherent universe. I think good relationships are the key to a good acquisition. I won’t make a full list, but all of Xbox’s partner studios are legit acquisitions. There’s a wealth of talent, big and small, diverse and varied, who could grow and shine with Xbox, so hopefully Microsoft will pick them up after ABK.
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Put a ring on Stoic.
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Good target for acquisition.
The situation seems dramatic for Embracer. I feel like they are making the same mistakes and following the same path as THQ. It’s really a pity. I wonder if Microsoft will be able to take the opportunity to recover some studios. Obviously CD, Eidos, and Gearbox are on the front lines, but Embracer also has other interesting studios. It would be a good thing for Xbox, and it could allow Embracer to get its head above water. Case to follow. I hope that solutions will be found to save jobs and studios.
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Coffee Stain would be a really good PC-centric get although I think Microsoft nab Paradox if they get a PC publisher.
The biggest issue with publishing deals is you do not control the studios, which could lead to issues retaining them for sequels / continued support after the deal concludes. There is also the issue of third parties not wanting to sell you their IP. The good news with the People Can Fly deal is MS owns whatever IP they will be working on.
Having said that, if you can lock down a studio for 10 years, like they did with Asobo and Flight Sim, that is one way to alleviate those concerns somewhat.
One of the things I would like to see MS do, is take a page out of Hollywood’s playbook. In Hollywood, studios will often sign actors and directors to multi-film contracts for franchises that have sequel potential. Someone like Robert Pattinson likely signed a 3-film commitment for the Batman. This doesn’t mean that WB/DC needs to make three Batman films. What it does mean is should WB/DC make the Batman 2 or 3, Pattinson can’t say no.
So in the context of video games, instead of signing a deal with Crytek for Ryse: Son of Rome, I would prefer that they lock them in for a trilogy. If the first one hits or shows potential, you can continue with Ryse 2 and 3. Granted, that doesn’t mean that Crytek (or whichever studio) would agree to those terms.
I don’t think gog would cause that much of an issue as the marketshare isn’t all that significant. It’s not like MS buying steam. However, as others have said it could be spun off as well or MS coudl just buy the studio r and not the game sales company depending on how they are structured lots of ways a deal like that could work.
I’m not particularly interested in acquiring Coffee Stain, but knowing that the PC market has taken a large place in Xbox’s revenue, I think SEGA and Paradox are an absolute no-brainer. CDPR also has a very large community on PC, in addition to attracting many console players.
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Strange he’s only announcing it now, it did the rounds two years ago!
Maybe Xbox should go after a ton of indie studios to double their output for first party and increase permanent titles in game pass
Houser is one of the few studio heads that I can’t imagine ever considering his company being acquired. He has plenty of resources to finance an initial project and unless it bombs immediately, I imagine he’ll stay independent for the foreseeable future.