Xbox Game Studios |OT4| This is for Studio talk. Studios. It's the Studios OT. Studio talk here (Part 1)

Welcome to OT4 People, now remember, we now have the Community Thread where general Xbox chit chat can go. We want this thread to actually be about the studios. Job listings, hires, concept art from new hires, rumours, all that stuff should go here.

With the formalities out of the way, let’s get cracking.

Who We Are

We’re more than a studio, we’re a family of talented developers who are committed to making awesome experiences for our fans. To achieve that, it certainly takes a diverse team, which is why we’re home to everything from artists, engineers, designers, administrators, and inventors – but more than that, these same people are parents, pilots, painters – they’re activists, cyclists and collectors – their personal and domestic passions are as much a part of what makes this studio tick, as any detail on a resume. So those passions are woven into our social tapestry too, in our softball team, in our cook-offs, in our board game marathons, in our hiking and biking adventures – and much, much more.

Website
Founded: 2007
Studio Size: ~750 employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2013 Halo: Spartan Assault Xbox One, PC, Mobile 53/70/86
2012 Halo 4 Xbox 360 87
2014 Halo: The Master Chief Collection Xbox One 85
2015 Halo 5: Guardians Xbox One 84
2015 Halo: Spartan Strike PC, Mobile 86
2016 Halo 5: Forge PC N/A
2017 Halo Wars Definitive Edition Xbox One, PC 81
2017 Halo Wars 2 Xbox One, PC 79

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Halo Infinite
  • Halo: The Master Chief Collection PC version (in conjunction with Ruffian and Splash Damage)

ABOUT US

The Coalition is a growing team of talented, creative, fun-loving professionals, united in their passion for Gears of War. As a Microsoft first-party studio, we focus on pushing the limits of interactive entertainment and taking Gears to new heights.

We believe that if you want to go far, go together. It takes a diverse team of people sharing a common vision to make a groundbreaking game. Mutual trust, a shared purpose, and the determination to overcome any obstacles together defines what it means to have a great team. We also believe that fun games can only come from teams that have fun! We take our work seriously, but not ourselves.

And when it comes to having fun, it helps that The Coalition calls beautiful Vancouver, Canada home. With a mild climate, vibrant nightlife, abundant arts and culture, diverse culinary scene, and no end of outdoor adventures, the area has something for everyone.

Website
Founded: 2010
Studio Size: 350+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2015 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Xbox One, PC 82/73
2016 Gears of War 4 Xbox One, PC 84/86
2019 Gears Pop! Mobile N/A
2019 Gears 5 Xbox One, PC 85/82
2020 Gears Tactics PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X 81
2020 Gears 5 Hivebusters PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X 81

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

Where the most talented people create great games, develop rewarding careers, and shape the future of automotive entertainment together.

Located in Redmond, Washington, Turn 10 Studios is the creator of the Forza franchise and the developer of the Forza Motorsport series of games.

Turn 10 is a division of Microsoft Games Studios and was established in 2001 as a first-party game developer. The studio’s first game – the original Forza Motorsport – launched in May 2005. With an emphasis on cutting edge simulation and showcasing both Xbox Live as well as the Xbox hardware, the game launched to critical acclaim. It quickly gathered a passionate automotive community, known equally for its driving skill and artistic creativity. Since then, the series has become a favorite for gamers and automotive enthusiasts around the world. As a first-party studio, Turn 10 is on the leading edge of technology innovation and has created amazing experiences built to show off the best of first-party hardware and services, including Xbox Live, Kinect, and the Xbox One X.

In 2012, the universe of Forza expanded with the introduction of the open-world Forza Horizon series of games. Developed by Playground Games, the Forza Horizon series has enjoyed tremendous worldwide success, and represents an entirely new expression of the Forza franchise vision.

Forza’s official Esports series, the Forza Racing Championship, launched in 2016, featuring the best drivers in the world competing in Forza Motorsport games to become the ForzaRC champion. ForzaRC drivers have competed all around the world, with winners standing atop the podium at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans after competing in ForzaRC Season 3: The Porsche Cup.

At Turn 10 our goal is to make great racing games that represent the passion & diversity of our studio and our community, all over the world.

Website
Founded: 2001
Studio Size: 150+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2005 Forza Motorsport Xbox 92
2007 Forza Motorsport 2 Xbox 360 90
2009 Forza Motorsport 3 Xbox 360 92
2011 Forza Motorsport 4 Xbox 360 91
2013 Forza Motorsport 5 Xbox One 79
2015 Forza Motorsport 6 Xbox One 87
2016 Forza Motorsport 6: Apex PC N/A
2017 Forza Motorsport 7 Xbox One, PC 86/82

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Forza Motorsport

RARE: A 35-YEAR RECAP

Established in 1985 to focus on the expanding console market, we partnered with Nintendo and quickly sealed a reputation for quality with titles including Battletoads , Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye .

The acquisition of Rare by Microsoft Game Studios came about in 2002 after a colossally successful run of titles throughout the 1990s. We went on to support the Xbox 360 debut with two of the three launch games, Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero . Subsequent years saw us innovate with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts , the addictive Viva Piñata franchise and our pioneering work on Xbox 360 Avatars.

In more recent years our investigations into cutting-edge motion control resulted in the multi-million-selling, double BAFTA-winning Kinect Sports series. With development now firmly established for Xbox One and Windows 10, we’re still hard at work here in our custom-built English countryside HQ. Galvanised by the opportunity to celebrate our heritage with the Rare Replay anniversary collection, we followed it up with our most ambitious undertaking to date: creating a world of legendary pirate adventures for players to tackle together in Sea of Thieves. Then came X019 in London and the unveiling of Rare’s very latest world of wonder, Everwild.

With Everwild underway, Sea of Thieves receiving regular post-launch content updates and much more still to come from Rare, here’s to another productive few decades!

Website
Founded: 1985
Studio Size: 250+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
1988 R.C Pro-Am NES N/A
1989 Marble Madness NES N/A
1990 Snake, Rattle ‘n’ Roll NES N/A
1991 Battletoads NES N/A
1994 Donkey Kong Country SNES 78
1994 Killer Instinct Arcade N/A
1995 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest SNES 80
1995 Killer Instinct 2 Arcade N/A
1996 Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble SNES N/A
1997 Goldeneye 007 Nintendo 64 96
1997 Diddy Kong Racing Nintendo 64 88
1998 Banjo-Kazooie Nintendo 64 92
1999 Jet Force Gemini Nintendo 64 80
1999 Donkey Kong 64 Nintendo 64 90
1998 Banjo-Tooie Nintendo 64 90
2000 Perfect Dark Nintendo 64 97
2001 Conker’s Bad Fur Day Nintendo 64 92
2002 Star Fox Adventures Nintendo GameCube 82
2003 Grabbed by the Ghoulies Xbox 82
2005 Conker Live & Reloaded Xbox 78
2005 Kameo: Elements of Power Xbox 360 79
2005 Perfect Dark Zero Xbox 360 81
2006 Viva Piñata Xbox 360, PC 84
2007 Jetpac Refuelled Xbox 360 73
2008 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Xbox 360 82
2008 Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Xbox 360 79
2010 Kinect Sports Xbox 360 73
2011 Kinect Sports: Season 2 Xbox 360 66
2014 Kinect Sports Rivals Xbox One 60
2015 Rare Replay Xbox One 84
2018 Sea of Thieves Xbox One, PC 69/67
2020 Battletoads (in collab. with Dlala Studios) Xbox One, PC 72

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

MEET MOJANG STUDIOS

We have a new name, a new logo, and a new trailer!

TOOOT! Sound the annoyingly loud birthday alarm, because it’s Minecraft’s 11th birthday! To celebrate, we thought about eating a lot of block-shaped cake, like last year.

Then we figured, why not unveil a new name, a new logo, and the secret sauce that makes the entire machine run instead? While also eating a lot of cake? Much better! Let’s do that.

But why would we need a new name and logo in the first place? Well, why not? Humans like to reinvent themselves from time to time, so it’s only right that we extend the same courtesy to a company that’s been around for over a decade. I mean, would you still wear the outfit that perfectly defined your style in 2009?

Also, so much has happened since then! From our humble beginnings in Stockholm, we are entering the 20’s as a multi-title, multi-location company. Following Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons, we’re planning a feature film, preparing an epic live show, and playing with ideas for brand new games.

There are also several studios around the world, all part of Mojang . Which, in a stroke of genius, inspired our new name… drumroll and birthday alarm blareMojang Studios .

Website
Founded: 2009
Studio Size: 600+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2011 Minecraft PC 93
2012-Present Minecraft Every platform on earth 80-89
2016 Cobalt Xbox One, PC 66/69
2019 Minecraft Earth Mobile N/A
2020 Minecraft Dungeons Xbox One, Switch, PS4 PC 74/72/78/70

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Minecraft Dungeons DLC

About Playground

Playground Games was established in 2010, bringing together some of the most experienced and talented developers from the UK industry, with the vision to create genre-defining titles for a global audience. Since then, we’ve created four critically-acclaimed, award-winning hits; our Horizon games have garnered more than one hundred awards and have been played by many millions of fans.

Today, Playground has two world-class studios in Leamington Spa. In our original HQ, we continue to support and grow the huge, vibrant Horizon community. In our new studio on the other side of town, we are excited to be developing Fable, a new beginning for the legendary franchise.

Website
Founded: 2009
Studio Size: 300+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2012 Forza Horizon Xbox 360 85
2014 Forza Horizon 2 Xbox 360, Xbox One 86
2016 Forza Horizon 3 Xbox One, PC 91/86
2018 Forza Horizon 4 Xbox One, PC 92/88

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Fable
  • Forza Horizon 5

ABOUT

Ninja Theory Ltd. was formed in 2004 by four partners, including current Directors Nina Kristensen (Chief Development Director), Tameem Antoniades (Chief Creative Director) and Jez San OBE (Non-Executive Director). The studio pride themselves on striving for the highest production values and continually pushing the boundaries of technology, art and design to create evermore exciting video game experiences.

Ninja Theory are proud to have worked with a long list of collaborators from creative industries outside of video games, including Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Hobbit), Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later), Nitin Sawhney (BBC’s Human Planet), Noisia (Split The Atom) and Combichrist (Making Monsters). As well as partnering with talent from the world of music, literature and film, Ninja Theory pioneered the use of Performance Capture in video games.

Website
Founded: 2004
Studio Size: ~120 employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2003 Kung Fu Chaos Xbox 68
2007 Heavenly Sword PlayStation 3 79
2010 Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 82/80/70
2013 DmC: Devil May Cry Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 86/85/85
2015 DmC: Devil May Cry Special Edition Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 86/83
2017 Dexed PlayStation 4, PC (2016) 65
2017 Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One (2018), Switch (2019) 81/83/88/80
2018 Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR PC 87
2019 A Star Wars VR Series: Vader Immortal PC 78
2020 Bleeding Edge Xbox One, PC 66/62

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga
  • Project Mara
  • Project Insight

STUDIO

The Initiative is a new game development studio located blocks from the beach in sunny Santa Monica, CA. Our Mission is to create ambitious and innovative game experiences that our audience will love. We are passionate about craft, creating stories, and building the next big thing in gaming.

We are a tight knit team of experienced creators bound by the desire to push the art of video games forward. We work in an inspirational space in Santa Monica where we can immerse ourselves in the creative process. We operate as an independent studio under the banner and financial backing of Xbox Game Studios and Microsoft.

Everything we do comes from a passion for innovation and the ambition to create something groundbreaking. We believe that teamwork, diversity of thought, and a personal drive to build something great are the keys to our success.

Website
Founded: 2018
Studio Size: ~70 employees

Notable Releases:

  • Will update as more info is made known.

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Perfect Dark for Xbox Series X|S

The Lab

Undead Labs is a Seattle, Washington-based game development studio that’s on a mission to take gaming in bold new directions. Jeff Strain, an MMO industry veteran, formed the lab in 2009 with the goal of building a creative studio around the most talented developers in the industry. You can read all the details in the Undead Labs formation announcement.

Our talented developers set out first to create the definitive zombie-survival game for gamers. In 2011 the lab partnered with Microsoft Game Studios to publish State of Decay, an open world zombie survival game for PC and Xbox360. By 2015, State of Decay allowed over two million gamers to test their survivalist wits to the ultimate test and fight alongside friends to reclaim the world from the undead hordes.

Undead Labs is an elite team of programmers, artists, designers, musicians, and producers. We are excited about bringing fresh new takes on gaming to the gaming community. If you are interested in joining us at the Lab check out the job postings on our Jobs Page.

Website
Founded: 2009
Studio Size: 100+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2013 State of Decay Xbox 360, PC 78
2018 State of Decay 2 Xbox One, PC 68

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • State of Decay 3

A small studio in a big industry

Compulsion is 40 people squatting in an old gramophone factory in Saint Henri, Montréal. Founded in 2009, we want to create interesting, fun games that are out of the ordinary. We like to think of ourselves as craftsmen, who create games that we love and are proud of. We make games because we’re excited about them, and about the concepts and ideas they contain (like shadow shifting, or a talking mask).

We make games about real people in sometimes ridiculous worlds, and want to tell stories that aren’t just “I am a prince, look! a monster, I must hit it with a stick (a big one) so it dies”.

Website
Founded: 2009
Studio Size: 70+ employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2013 Contrast Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 65/59/62
2018 We Happy Few Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 65/68/62

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Unannounced third-person game

Overview

Obsidian Entertainment, an Xbox Game Studio based in Irvine, California, is one of the world’s leading developers of role-playing games. Obsidian’s past titles include The Outer Worlds, Pillars of Eternity I & II, Tyranny, Armored Warfare, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Fallout: New Vegas, Dungeon Siege 3, Alpha Protocol, Neverwinter Nights 2, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. Obsidian also has other unannounced projects in the works

Website
Founded: 2003
Studio Size: 230+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2004 Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Xbox, PC (2005) 86/85
2006 Neverwinter Nights 2 PC 82
2010 Alpha Protocol Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 63/64/72
2010 Fallout: New Vegas Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 84/82/84
2011 Dungeon Siege III Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 72/71/72
2014 South Park: The Stick of Truth Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox One/PlayStation 4/Nintendo Switch (2018) 82/85/85
2015 Pillars of Eternity PC, Xbox One/PlayStation 4 (2017), Nintendo Switch (2019) 89
2015 Skyforge PC, Xbox One/PlayStation 4 (2017) N/A
2016 Pathfinder Adventures Mobile, PC (2017) 85
2016 Tyranny PC 80
2018 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire PC, Xbox One/PlayStation 4/Nintendo Switch (2020) 88/77
2019 The Outer Worlds PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch (2020) 82/67
2020 Grounded Xbox One, PC N/A

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Grounded
  • Josh Sawyer’s Project Missouri
  • Avowed
  • The Outer Worlds DLC

Overview

inXile entertainment is an Xbox Game Studio developing console and PC titles, with locations in Southern California and New Orleans. Established and headed by Brian Fargo since 2003, inXile has continually delivered innovative and high-quality experiences to our passionate and dedicated fan base. We bring our love for RPGs, deep and engaging stories, and tactical thinking to each of our titles.

Our history of successful crowdfunded releases include Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and The Bard’s Tale IV. We’re currently working on Wasteland 3 and other unannounced projects.

Website
Founded: 2002
Studio Size: 100+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2004 The Bard’s Tale PC, Ouya, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Mobile 70/76
2008 Line Rider 2: Unbound Mobile, PC, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii 73/59/62
2010 Super Stacker Party PlayStation 3 N/A
2011 Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 61/57/61
2012 Choplifter HD Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Ouya 65/71/65
2014 Wasteland 2 PC, Xbox One/PlayStation 4 (2015), Nintendo Switch (2018) 81/77/80/76
2017 Torment: Tides of Numenera Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 79/76/81
2017 The Mage’s Tale PC, PlayStation 4 (2019) 72/69
2018 The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 71
2020 Wasteland Remastered Xbox One, PC 62
2020 Wasteland 3 Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 81/86

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Unannounced 3rd Person Action AAA RPG

Founded in 2002 by former LucasArts developers led by Tim Schafer, Double Fine Productions is a studio functioning as a masterclass in unique, interesting games focusing on fun above all else, even though they’re really freaking good at the other stuff, too. Among their repertoire are such titles as Psychonauts , Massive Chalice , and the much-beloved Grim Fandango Remastered— itself a modern rendition of a project Tim Schafer created back in the LucasArts days.

Website
Founded: 2000
Studio Size: 70+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2005 Psychonauts Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC 88/86/87
2009 Brütal Legend Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (2013) 82/83/80
2010 Costume Quest Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Mobile 74/77
2011 Stacking Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (2012) 84/83/80
2011 Iron Brigade Xbox 360, PC 82/75
2011 Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster Xbox 360 79
2012 Double Fine Happy Action Theater Xbox 360 80
2012 Kinect Party Xbox 360 81
2013 The Cave Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, WiiU, PC, Mobile 70/72/72/68/65
2014 Broken Age PC, Xbox One (2017), PlayStation 4/Vita (2015), Nintendo Switch (2018), Mobile 76/78/81/90
2014 Costume Quest 2 PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One 68/74/68/65
2015 Grim Fandango Remastered PC, Nintendo Switch (2018), PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Mobile 84/84/80/84/78
2015 Massive Chalice Xbox One, PC 72/73
2016 Day of the Tentacle Remastered PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Mobile 86/84/82
2017 Full Throttle Remastered PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Mobile 77/76
2019 RAD Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC 74

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Psychonauts 2
  • Untitled online multiplayer game

Created by Microsoft in 2019, World’s Edge is headed up by Shannon Loftis and is responsible for managing the Age of Empires franchise in a similar fashion to 343 Industries with Halo and The Coalition with Gears of War. Not much is yet known about the studio, but we’ll surely find out in the months and years to come.

Website
Founded: 2019
Studio Size: 50+

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2019 Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition PC 84

|2020| Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | PC | 75

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Age of Empires IV (2020) , in conjunction with Relic Entertainment

Bethesda Game Studios is the award-winning development team known around the world for their groundbreaking work on The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. Creators of the 2006 ‘Game of the Year’, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the 2008 ‘Game of the Year’, Fallout 3, the 2011 ‘Game of the Year’, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and most recently, the 2015 ‘Game of the Year’, the record-breaking Fallout 4, the winner of more than 200 ‘Best Of’ awards including the 2016 BAFTA and 2016 D.I.C.E. Game of the Year, Fallout Shelter, the award-winning mobile game with more than 120 million users, and most recently the highly-anticipated Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls: Blades. Bethesda Game Studios has earned its reputation as one of the industry’s most respected and accomplished game development studios.

Website
Founded: 2001
Studio Size: 420+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2002 Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Xbox, PC 87/89
2004 IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005 Xbox, PlayStation 2 36
2006 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 94/93/94
2008 Fallout 3 Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 93/90/91
2011 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, lol everything 96/92/94
2015 Fallout Shelter Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mobile 61/63/71
2015 Fallout 4 Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 88/87/84
2018 Fallout 76 Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 49/53/52
2019 The Elder Scrolls: Blades Nintendo Switch, Mobile 42

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Starfield
  • The Elder Scrolls VI

Founded in 2007, ZENIMAX ONLINE STUDIOS was established to take the legendary Elder Scrolls franchise online. Since then, we’ve attracted and developed internally some of the most talented individuals in the industry, and we work to foster a collaborative, encouraging, and open working environment while developing our current and future projects.

Website
Founded: 2007
Studio Size: 383 Employees (LinkedIn)

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2014 Elder Scrolls Online Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac 71

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

id Software, part of the ZeniMax Media Inc. family of companies, has provided technical, design and artistic leadership as a world-renowned game developer and technology innovator since its founding in 1991. id Software’s iconic brands such as Wolfenstein®, DOOM®, QUAKE® and RAGE® have become staples of popular culture for generations of gamers. At id Software, everything revolves around the people; we believe in hiring the best and brightest and giving them the tools and the environment to be successful. These principles have guided us successfully for over twenty years and will continue to guide us into the future.

Website
Founded: 1991
Studio Size: 300+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
1990 Commander Keen in the Invasion of the Vorticons PC N/A
1992 Wolfenstein 3D PC N/A
1993 Doom PC, Everything else later N/A
1994 Doom II PC, Everything else later 83
1996 Quake PC, Sega Saturn (1997), Nintendo 64 (1998) 94/74
1997 Quake II PC, Nintendo 64 (1999), PlayStation (1999) N/A
1999 Quake III Arena PC, Dreamcast (2000), PlayStation 2 (2000) 93
2004 Doom 3 PC, Xbox (2005) 87/88
2010 Quake Live PC NA
2011 Rage Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 81/81/79
2016 Doom Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Nintendo Switch (2017) 87/85/85/79
2018 Quake Champions PC N/A
2020 Doom Eternal Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Google Stadia 88/87/88

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

N/A

ABOUT MACHINE GAMES

MachineGames was established in 2009 by former founding members of Starbreeze Studios and acquired by ZeniMax Media in 2010. Located in Uppsala, Sweden, MachineGames is a studio comprised of a seasoned group of developers recognized for their work creating story-driven games. Their first title, the critically-acclaimed action-adventure shooter, Wolfenstein: The New Order, is a reimagining of the franchise widely credited for helping establish the first-person shooter genre. Launched in May 2014, the game has garnered numerous ‘Game of the Year’ and ‘Shooter of the Year’ awards and nominations from media outlets worldwide.

Website
Founded: 2009
Studio Size: 150+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2014 Wolfenstein: The New Order Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC 79/79/81
2015 Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 75/76/76
2017 Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC 88/87/86/79
2019 Wolfenstein: Youngblood Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC 68/63/69/66

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Wolfenstein 3
  • Indiana Jones (Xbox Exclusive?)

Arkane® Studios – with offices in Lyon, France and Austin, Texas – was founded in 1999 and has earned an enviable reputation for creating distinctive games with detailed, immersive worlds. The award-winning development team is known for the innovative first-person action series, Dishonored® , which includes the 2012 ‘Game of the Year’ and the critically-acclaimed follow-up, Dishonored 2® . Following its release in November 2016, Dishonored 2® earned over 100 ‘Best of 2016 Awards’ including ‘Best Action-Adventure Game’ at The Game Awards 2016. Arkane Studios released Prey® , the highly-anticipated first-person sci-fi action game, on May 5, 2017.

Arkane Studios was founded in 1999 by Raphael Colantonio.

Website
Founded: 1999
Studio Size: 300+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2002 Arx Fatalis PC, Xbox (2003) 77/71
2006 Dark Messiah of Might and Magic PC, Xbox 360 (2008) 72/52
2009 KarmaStar Mobile N/A
2012 Dishonored Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 88/89/91
2016 Dishonored 2 Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 88/88/86
2017 Prey Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 84/79/82
2017 Dishonored: Death of the Outsider Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 84/82/81

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Deathloop - Timed exclusive for PlayStation 5 and PC

Thread content: Shpeshal Ed and Figments
Artwork: Shpeshal Ed

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ABOUT

Zenimax Media is known for its World-famous Bethesda brand. Among them, Tango Game Works, the only studio based in Japan, is a studio that focuses on creating games from the creator’s point of view. I don’t want to be a game development studio that sells well but loses sight of its worth and fun. Japanese game development that can be proud of the world. Love for the game can be the best in the world. We aim to be such a development studio.

Website
Founded: 2010
Studio Size: 200+ Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2014 The Evil Within Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC 79/75/80
2017 The Evil Within II Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 82/76/80

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

  • Ghostwire: Tokyo - Timed exclusive for PlayStation 5 and PC

About

Alpha Dog is a boutique game studio creating top-tier 3D games for mobile, PC, and consoles. Our first game “Wraithborne” received international critical acclaim in fall 2012 for its console quality graphics and gameplay. Our second game, MonstroCity: Rampage (Action-Strategy), was released in spring 2017 and has been consistently featured in the app stores by Apple and Google worldwide.

We believe there is not one end-all, be-all solution. Each game is unique and requires handcrafted experiences that fit the audience. However, none of this can happen if you don’t first “find the fun” and give the player genuine value for their time no matter what.

We develop games we believe in as a team and set the bar high with a heavy focus on social experience. Harnessing the power of Unity and Unreal Engine 4, our goal is to build an iconic brand through evolutionary design and pushing the limit of mobile games.

Website
Founded: 2012
Studio Size: ~50 Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2012 Wraithborne Mobile 68
2017 MonstroCity: Rampage! Mobile N/A

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

N/A

About

Founded in 1997, Human Head began as a single-team development studio dedicated to creating the highest quality video and computer games, starting with the development of the highly innovative and award winning Rune. By 2005, the company had expanded to more than 35 veteran game developers and developed Prey, which won numerous awards including “Shooter of the Year” by Official XBox Magazine and “Action Game of the Year” by PC Gamer.

In 2019, Bethesda Softworks opened a new development studio - Roundhouse Studios from the ashes of Human Head Studios. The developers at Roundhouse Studios represent more than two decades working together on a variety of games and genres, including RPGs, shooters, action-adventure games, and more.

Founded: 1997 (as Human Head Studios), became Roundhouse in 2019
Studio Size: ~70 Employees

Notable Releases

Year Title Platform(s) Metascore
2000 Rune PC 76
2004 Dead Man’s Hand Xbox, PC 62/63
2006 Prey Xbox 360, PC 79/83
2011 Brink Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 68/72/70
2013 Defiance Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC 60/59/64
2015 Dungeon Defenders II PlayStation 4 N/A
2018 The Quiet Man PlayStation 4, PC 28/40
2019 Rune II PC 47

Upcoming Projects and Rumors:

N/A


Other Studios/Teams:

  • ID@Xbox, publishing support and pilot program for independent game developers
  • Backwards Compatibility Team, handles Xbox One BackCompat
  • Microsoft Foundry, intern program
  • Mixed Reality Team, works on AR/VR content for Xbox and Windows 10
  • Microsoft Casual Games, works on the casual games collection for Microsoft, including MS Solitaire, Wordament, and MS Mahjong
  • Xbox Growth Team
  • Xbox Game Pass
  • Project xCloud

Acquisitions, Studios and Otherwise (8th Gen):

Studios/Teams Shut Down or Spun Off (8th Gen):

  • Twisted Pixel ( The Maw , Splosion Man ), left in 2015
  • Press Play ( Max and the Curse of Brotherhood , Kalimba ), closed in 2016
  • Lionhead Studios (The Fable Franchise), closed in 2016
  • Team Dakota ( Project Spark ), disbanded in 2016
  • Xbox Fitness Team, disbanded in 2016
  • Decisive Games, disbanded before public outing in 2016

Cancelled/Discontinued Titles (8th Gen):

  • Black Tusk’s new IP, cancelled to shift focus onto Gears of War and subsequent titles
  • Project Spark , servers closed in 2015
  • Fable Legends , cancelled with Lionhead’s closing in 2016
  • Project Knoxville , cancelled with Press Play’s closing in 2016
  • Xbox Fitness, servers closed June 2017

2020 Games Thus Far

Title Developer Platform(s) Metascore
Ori & The Will of the Wisps Moon Studios Xbox One, PC 90
Tell Me Why DontNod Xbox One, PC 78
Microsoft Flight Simulator Asobo PC 92

Below we have information regarding upcoming titles created by partner studios, as well as any other relevant material not mentioned previously. Don’t fret. This section will get a MAJOR rework in the days and weeks to come.

We begin with upcoming partner titles:

Developer : Smilegate

Release Date : 2021

Description :

CrossfireX delivers an intense first-person shooter experience where players are immersed in a sprawling global conflict between the world’s two most formidable private military factions: Global Risk employs veterans of powerful armed forces who use advanced technologies to fight for order and security; Black List employs hardened mercenaries trained in guerilla tactics who fight to destabilize oppressive regimes in the name of freedom. Choose your side and complete objective-based missions across a variety of classic and innovative modes featuring tightly crafted gameplay and cinematic visuals.


Miscellaneous & Important Information

Current Partner Studios:

  • 4J Studios, original console versions of Minecraft
  • Certain Affinity, assistance on Halo projects
  • Forgotten Empires, Age of Empires 1: Definitive Edition, Age of Empires 2 & 3: Definitive Editions
  • Relic Entertainment, Age of Empire 4
  • Saber Interactive, assistance on Halo projects
  • Skybox Labs, Age of Empires DLC, Halo 5: Forge updates
  • Smoking Gun Interactive, Age of Empires: Castle Siege
  • Splash Damage, assistance on Gears Tactics DLC

Rumored Partners:

  • None so far

Cancelled Partner Collaborations:

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Microsoft buying Nintendo when? It’s crazy how fast these threads move. Easily the most popular on the site.

That new OT smell.

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why aren’t we getting OT4 electric dumbeldore?

Budget cuts for XboxEra? :wink:

No new name after all? There were a lot of suggestions in the previous.

Oh, a thread Remaster. Impressive tech!

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I think someone still has to create a new thread. this was automated by the system

Albert Camus Literature GIF by PBS Digital Studios

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Went from AAA to episodic AA smh

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lmao :joy:

xBoXeRa hAs nO Ot-ThReAds

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Its all forum fodder!

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Damn I need a new Fallout… :frowning:

Do we know how many people work at Bethesda Austin specifically ?

I hope that once the acquisition is complete that Microsoft will expand and elevate the studio so they can start working on Fallout 5 (with some help from Bethesda Maryland once Starfield is done) while still supporting Fallout 76. Especially since Gardiner is here since Fallout 4 development and seems open to the idea of making a single-player Fallout.

Ideally, my dream for the future of the Fallout franchise would look like this this:

  • Fallout 5 by Bethesda Austin set in New York

  • Fallout: Return to New Vegas outsourced to a 3rd-party developer and supervised by Obsidian (remake of New Vegas with all of the cut content, the overhauled Creation engine, quality of life improvements (sprint, FO4 gunplay…). Well, giving access to the new Bethesda’s engine to a 3rd-party developer may be impossible, so I don’t know who would make it actually…)

  • the planned sequel to FNV, Fallout: Los Angeles by Obsidian (by the main team after Avowed has released, I think that Cain and Boyarsky will stick to The Outer Worlds 2)

  • a new isometric Fallout having the look of Wasteland 3 (but Obsidian and inXile are both too busy and I don’t see them returning to isometric RPGs, Beamdog would be a good fit maybe)

This is just me doing an unrealistic wishlist but I truly hope that we won’t have to wait for TES6 to release for the next Fallout game to enter in full production (and it would be even further away when considering the major delays caused by COVID on internal schedules, I guess there is good chance that TES6 may arrive later than initially planned before COVID because of the situation).

The wait is already unbearable as a Fallout fan (thankfully I never played TES games, so I don’t have to experience the wait between Skyrim and TES6 :dizzy_face: :dizzy_face:).

At least there should be the Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime soon.

9 Likes

Did they really love the puzzles. In my (small) circle that was one of the things that many said turned them off

Did some tweaking and studio updates/projects like Adding Indy for Machine.

Was tempted to add some other…“rumoured” stuff but thought I’d hold off as to not cause a stir or get anyone in trouble.

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Such a tease lol. Care to say whether it is stuff to do with XGS, Bethesda or both?

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