https://twitter.com/Knoebelbroet/status/1749500645042712891?t=qG4ZE666vmTSDfAldzhEoA&s=19
Microsoft save them!! 
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I follow the whole situation because Piranha Bytes is one of my favorite developers and Gothic is a huge part of my childhood.
According to Gamestar, the biggest gaming magazine in Germany, Elex 2 flopped really hard. Even few month after the release no one wanted to buy it which was not the case with Elex 1.
Embracer told PB to search for a buyer, but to this day they didn’t found one.
The creative director and the face of PB Björn Pankratz left a few month ago and the staff are all fired or moved to another Embracer studio. Apparently Elex 3 is cancelled as well.
By the looks of it the Studio is just a shell. There is still a tiny chance that it will be sold, but unlikely. Especially when the most value IP, Gothic, it now at a Spanish studio.
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If Xbox acquired Piranha Bytes where would you put them? Under Bethesda?
Their games were always quite similar in terms of UI and how you interact with things. I think part of the problem was with how they tried to modernise their games but it just didn’t work (felt clunky), ironically Bethesda have recently had similar complaints.
XGS. Bethesda Games are more focus on being first person. But here is the thing why no one will acquire PB.
- studio is dead
- Gothic IP is the only thing with value and is probably not included in a sale
- PB refused to grow for 20 years
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I think Embracer would sell the IP if they actually find a buyer, the remake in development is not a problem. Anyway, it’s unlikely and I fear the studio can shut down.
Now this is more interesting!
Deus Ex is rumoured to be in development (not at Eidos) https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/xSSCDF39Es
I wonder who is making it? Another Embracer studio? Xbox really need to pickup Crystal and Eidos soon!
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The source is 4chan, I don’t know if it’s credible.
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If that’s the case then I would love the IP at CDPR. Polish people love Gothic and I’m pretty sure that every RPG studio in Poland and Russia is inspired by PB.
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Hopefully it won’t be Sony, but I could see them go after them, because they don’t have a RPG developer.
That has been the number 1 requested thing from PlayStation gamers.
If not them CD Projekt hopefully gets them, if not Microsoft.
Sony has the standard of making very polished games. PB will always make janky western RPGs. They did it for over 20 years and were always a small studios with around 30-40 employees.
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Yes, that is true, yet if Sony buys them, I’d have to imagine they’d grow the studio.
Don’t think Sony would buy PB just to change the whole culture. PB really like being this small indie “Ruhrpott style” (their region) studio .
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Agreed, as I said above even Bethesda has had the same criticism lately (about being outdated/janky) and they are one of if not the best AAA RPG studios in the world.
I can’t see someone like Sony ever picking them up, I doubt CDPR would either.
Yeah unlikely, but there could be something to it.
I thought we knew Eidos was working on Deus Ex though, not sure I believe this
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It’s a random 4chan rumor, so yeah lol
The presence of Square Enix in the Developer_Direct was a good surprise. The relationship with Xbox seems better than ever. I like the new direction at Square Enix. I think it could be a good acquisition. Square Enix is struggling and Xbox needs this type of content. Development in Asia would be interesting. The best scenario would be SEGA + Square Enix. Microsoft could continue to release games on Nintendo and Playstation, and obtain some exclusives on a case-by-case basis. Japanese publishers would bring a lot to Xbox. I liked the variety of games presented during the Developer_Direct, so I hope that Microsoft will move in this direction and that the next publisher will be SEGA and/or Square Enix. I’m also very excited about what small studios like Ninja Theory, Stoic, or Oxide Games are capable of creating. I would like Microsoft to continue acquiring innovative and talented studios. I love the Developer_Direct format. I hope Xbox continues to grow to offer us this type of event more regularly. I really had a great time and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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Iv been on the train of every company Xbox aquired should have its games be exclusive to Xbox no matter what. The only one I budged with was cod and minecraft. The other publisher I’d be ok with is square because they release game regular and they would all be on gamepass. What I would do is go ahead let every main line final fantasy be multiplat. Every other square property is exclusive. Dragon quest, mana etc all Xbox only. Multiplayer games too. Everything else get an Xbox. I think it’s a good middle ground and would keep developers at square as square would get to try few things and everyone wins
Square, Sega, and Platinum. Then bring the Bayonetta franchise to Xbox. Reboot Bayonetta, Vanquish and Nier as Xbox games. Also bump up the graphics of the new Bayonetta and Nier to take advantage of the Xbox’s power. Oh and since they’d have Platinum I have to say it, bring back Scalebound. I’ll die on that hill.
Those along with FF, Yakuza, KH, Mana, Persona, and the like would make Xbox a powerhouse in Japan almost Instantly. I am sure they would have to leave some games multiplat in order to get that to pass. Share Bayonetta with Nintendo for sure if Switch 2 could handle the new one. I would see if they would at least give us Smash Bros with crossplay going forward for it though.
The petty parts of me want to say stick it to Sony, but they will probably cry to the regulators about FF, Yakuza, and Persona being vital to their Platform and getting those in concessions. It would still be a big get for Xbox to have all of that in Gamepass though.
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Not necessarily a Bayonetta reboot. If Xbox owns SEGA and Square Enix, they will have enough power to negotiate with Nintendo and bring Bayonetta 2, 3 and Origins to Xbox and PC. In exchange, future games from these publishers will continue to be released on Nintendo.
I’d like a Scalebound reboot that’s similar to Bayonetta. They should ditch multiplayer and make a great BTA. This is what Xbox needs.
Ironically, with SEGA and Square Enix, Xbox would undoubtedly become the JRPG console. I don’t think they would choose to be aggressive with exclusive games. In my opinion most games would continue to be released on PS and Nintendo. Exclusives games would be on a case-by-case basis. They could also make it so that Xbox and PC are the only platforms where you can play all of these games. By releasing the games on PS or Nintendo but never both at the same time. It wouldn’t really be exclusivity, but it could encourage gamers to buy an Xbox. Acquiring Square and SEGA would bring an incredible back catalog to Xbox and GP. This would be the promise of seeing all Square Enix games finally ported to Xbox (FF7R…). And it would be a nice addition to the family. Having Japanese branches would bring even more diversity to the first party catalog. So yes acquiring SEGA and Square would be perfect for Xbox. Microsoft can easily continue to expand in the West through the acquisition of studios, but for Asia, acquiring one or more publishers seems essential to me.
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I don’t get why, hypothetically speaking, Xbox wouldn’t or shouldn’t gate single player content from acquisitions, considering also their most important metric is GP subs and pc market combined with Xbox is big enough for any game (Palworld someone? Also a japanese/asian game and online/coop, not even single player only). It would also boost their market share in Asia, much more than when they did several exclusive JRPG and asian games in general from 2001 to 2014, give or take (HFR, through acquisition, was the first since a decade, OD will be the first publishing deal since the failed Scalebound and Recore).
Otherwise acquiring SEGA or Square Enix would be mostly a redundant cost, because you’ll get the 1-2 missing SE games (speaking about the big stuff obviously) and nothing more you get already now (many already on GP). Also these publishers are not even that big to bolster their revenue/profit numbers significantly (those two in particular, barwly break even from Xbox/MS perspective).
After ABK, mostly done for mobile and bolstering the numbers, next acquitions shold be made to bolster Xbox profile and standing, meaning exclusive content.