Microsoft acquires Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and others, and opens a new studio in California

Microsoft buying thins.

• Ninja Theory (Hellblade, DmC, Enslaved): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/06/10/e3-2018-ninja-theory-joins-microsoft-studios/
• Playground Games (Forza Horizon games): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/06/10/e3-2018-playground-games-joins-microsoft-studios/
  • They're reportedly also working on a new Fable game.
• Undead Labs (State of Decay series): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/06/10/e3-2018-undead-labs-joins-microsoft-studios/
• Compulsion Games (We Happy Few): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/06/10/e3-2018-compulsion-games-joins-microsoft-studios/

And a new AAA studio called The Initiative. It's based in Santa Monica, California, and led by Darrell Gallagher, former Crystal Dynamics head: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/06/10/e3-2018-microsoft-studios-opens-the-initiative/

Ninja Theory developers emphasize they'll have "full creative independence":

 

Those poor bastards. Like lambs to the slaughter.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about Ninja Theory. The nuMicrosoft under Phil Spencer has quite improved over the former, repressive Don Mattrick regime.

Still, I'd expect Ninja going forward a bit "safer" from now on.

 

$10m budget for Hellblade is more than I expected.

 

I guess they bought Playground Games for Horizon series, which physics model, at least in Horizon 3 felt quite arcadey. Forza Motosport 7 was... not very good. I wonder if talent left the building before MS bought them.

 

I guess I can forget about State of Decay on Steam then...

 

Playground only makes the Horizons. Turn 10 makes mainline Forza.

 

For 10 million, you can either make The Witcher 2 or Hellblade.

 

I forgot that. That leaves to wonder what is going to be Motorsports series future. Horizon and MP share models for cars and there also appear to be similar bugs caused by certain permissions in certain folders who aren't were they are supposed to be to begin with, in both games Horizon 3 and MP 7. Can't comment physics engine more than I already did, but there are folks on Forza forums who say physics engines has similarities, something gets in to MP may appear in Horizon and vice versa.

Horizon is hugely popular, more so than Motorsport series AFAIK and Infiltron posted about Fable series which MS also got. So it looks like they made pretty good deal. Then what corporate bureaucracy may cause to them remains to be seen.

 

I for one am thankful Microsoft is concentrating all these shitty developers into one entity so I can more easily ignore them.

 

Is Microsoft the only one interested in researching in AI?

 

how do you figure?

 

Everyone is researching AI because it's the thing to do. Unity has added AI and machine learning to their engine as well.

Most AI / machine learning in games likely won't be used for what players think of when they hear "AI", but for other purposes.

 

Guess they learned their lesson from Nintendo and now Sony; it is the exclusives that make your console desirable and the first party studios of Sony are crushing Microsoft right now
Smallish developers like Undead Labs should receive a huge boon out of this because they will get a lot more funding and tech support but kind of worried about Team Ninja

 

And this is the last time we will ever hear of them again ... and that's a really good thing. #bonvoyage

 

10 million sounds low for a game like The Witcher 2, although this probably has to do with Poland wages.

 

One of the main motivations behind these acquisitions of mid-sized studios: more games to Game Pass library: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-08-23-why-xbox-bought-ninja-theory

A bit about further acquisitions:

Obsidian (180+) does not quite fit in that criteria, without layoffs that is.

 

After the Stromlands fuckup Microsoft wouldn’t touch Obsidian with Howards the Toad’s dick

 

https://www.trueachievements.com/n3...ntertainment-reportedly-acquired-by-microsoft

Makes sense.

 

As a forner relic fanboi I'm not sure how to feel about that.

On one side they made dawn of war 1 (and 2 was allright if not as good as 1), and coh (once again, wasn't as fond of 2 though) which are rts classics. Impossible creatures was also an interesting experiment. With such a history behind them it would be a shame for the studio to just sink like a stone in water.

But they also made fucking dawn of war 3, and listened to starcraft 2 players, a sign that none of the greats behind their older games still work there and it's just a bunch of noobs using the relic name but not being worth of it, I don't have confidence they can find their touch again.

I guess microsoft can't fuck them over more then they already fucked themselves up.

 

I know it's old news, but what were you sayin' again?

 

If those studios shutted down nothing of value would be lost. Specially Ninja Theory.