2023-07-15 08:47:42
Acquisitions have become a huge part of the modern gaming landscape, with both Sony and Microsoft snapping up studios left, right and center over the past decade or so. Many worry that this practice will eventually lead to weaker competition and inferior video games for consumers, but it’s really hard to tell what kind of impact these kinds of big-budget acquisitions will have on the industry in the long term. Related: Every Studio Sony Owns (And What They’re Working On) As Microsoft presses ahead with trying to buy Activision Blizzard, video game fans might be interested to see how some of the studios previously taken on by Microsoft are doing. By looking at the caliber of games released before and following these developers joined Xbox Game Studios, it might be possible to get a better idea of how the first-party studio influenced the developer’s output. Compulsion Games (2018) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Variation (65) We Happy Little (67) Microsoft announced the acquisition of Compulsion Games at E3 2018 just months before the release of the studio’s second title, We’re Little Happy. Since then, the developer has grown exponentially as the team continues to work on an action-adventure game called South Midnight. As of this writing, there is no news on when exactly the game will be released. Double Fine Productions (2019) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Psychonauts (87) Psychonauts 2 (87) Broken Age (90) Day of the Tentacle Remastered (86) Double Fine Productions has continued to grow in size and stature since Tim Schafer founded it back in July of 2000. The studio was acquired by Microsoft two decades later, with award-winning platformers 2 being the only game released since the deal closed. inXile Entertainment (2018) Before Microsoft After Microsoft A Bard’s Tale (76) Wasteland Remastered (62) Wasteland 2 (87) Wasteland 3 (84) Torment: Tidal Wave of Numenera (81) Acquired by Microsoft in 2018, inXile Entertainment is best known for its work on Wasteland and The poet’s story before completing the deal. Since then, the team has continued working on the first, releasing both remastered versions of the first Wasteland game and the third installment of the series in 2020. Mojang Studios (2014) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Minecraft 93 Minecraft Dungeons (74) Minecraft Legends (65) Shocked Microsoft took the world by storm when it bought Mojang for $2.5 billion in September 2014. Given the huge success of the studio’s flagship game Minecraft though, it’s very easy to see why Microsoft was keen to strike a deal. The tech giant has released several Minecraft spin-off games in the years since the deal struck, though none have come close to the original in terms of popularity or critical acclaim. Ninja Theory (2018) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (88) Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series (69) DmC: Devil May Cry (86) Bleeding Edge (66) Heavenly Sword (79) Related: Every Game Ninja Theory, ranked by Metacritic Ninja Theory was picked up by Microsoft in 2018 following the success of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, which had only been released the previous year. Since then, Ninja Theory has had a few spinoffs, but the bulk of their time and attention has been spent working on the sequel to the 2017 title, with Senua Saga: Hellblade II set for release sometime during 2024. Obsidian Entertainment (2018) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Fallout: New Vegas (84) The Outer Worlds (85) South Park: The Stick of Truth (85) Crushed (82) Pillars of Eternity (89) Paintment (86) Obsidian Entertainment was one of several large studios acquired by Microsoft in 2018. The developer has already released three fairly big titles since then, with a few more currently in the works. These include a sequel to 2019’s The Outer Realms and an action RPG game called Confess, the latter of which is set in the Pillars of Eternity universe. Playground Games (2018) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Forza Horizon (85) Forza Horizon 4 (92) Forza Horizon 2 (86) Forza Horizon 5 (92) Forza Horizon 3 (91) Microsoft and Playground Games had been working together for some time when they first announced it would acquire the latter in June 2018. The studio was responsible for the Xbox-exclusive Forza Horizon series and continued to work on it in the years that followed, while also developing a Fable reboot. Rare (2002) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Conquer Bad Fur Day (92) Conquer: Live and Reloaded (78) Goldeneye 007 (96) Sea of Thieves (69) Banjo-Kazooie (92) Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (79) One One of Microsoft’s first big acquisitions, and undoubtedly one of its least successful, Rare was responsible for some of the best games on the SNES and Nintendo 64. However, since being picked up by Microsoft at the turn of the century, the studio has struggled to regain the success that flowed to it freely throughout the 1990s. . Things have gotten a little better in recent years, but Rare today is a very different studio from the one Microsoft acquired in 2002. Undead Labs (2018) Before Microsoft After Microsoft State of Decay (79) State of Decay 2 (69) Another studio he already had A healthy relationship with Microsoft Before being acquired by the tech giant in 2018, Undead Labs was the developer responsible for the Xbox exclusive series State of Decay. The first two games were developed before the deal closed, with a third game in development since then. Bethesda Game Studios (2021) Before Microsoft After Microsoft The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (94) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (94) Fallout 3 (91) Related: Best and Worst Bethesda Games, Ranked by Metacritic Besides Rare, Maybe Bethesda The largest studio acquired by Microsoft at the time of this writing, both in terms of its size and the level of games it produces. The developer is best known for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises and is currently putting the finishing touches on its open universe action RPG, Starfield. The latter is Bethesda’s first new IP in over a quarter of a century and looks set to become the first true vendor of the Series X system. Arkan Studios (2021) before Microsoft following Microsoft Dishonored (91) Redfall (53) Dishonored 2 (88) Deathlop (89) Founded Arkane Studios was founded by Raphaël Colantonio in late 1999 and became part of ZeniMax Media Group regarding a decade later. With facilities in Lyon, France, and Austin, Texas, Arkane often works on multiple games simultaneously and is known for its insulting series. However, the studio has spent most of its time working on the 2023 title Redfall since Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax in 2021. id Software (2021) before Microsoft following Microsoft Doom (87) Doom Eternal (88) Quake (94) id Software is one of the fathers Founders of the FPS genre and was responsible for creating many respected IPs, including Al Muto, Quake, and Wolfenstein. The developer was picked up by ZeniMax Media in 2009 and became one of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios following the latter’s acquisition of the former some twelve years later. MachineGames (2021) Before Microsoft After Microsoft Wolfenstein: The New Order (81) Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (76) Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (88) MachineGames took over development of the Wolfenstein series in the early 2010s, with 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order being the first major contribution In the studio in the long-running video game franchise. Since then, the developer has released several Wolfenstein games and is currently working on Wolfenstein 3 as well as an Indiana Jones game. Tango Games (2021) Before Microsoft After Microsoft The Evil Within 79 GhostWire: Tokyo (75) The Evil Within 2 (82) Hi-Fi Rush (87) Tango Gameworks was founded by Vampire Creator Shinji Mikami in early 2010. He was the first Its major release is the 2014 survival horror game The Evil Within, which received a sequel some three years later. Just a year following Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax in 2021, the studio released Ghostwire: Tokyo and followed that up by dropping the well-received rhythm game Hi-Fi Rush in January of the following year. Zenimax Online Studios (2021) Before Microsoft After Microsoft The Elder Scrolls Online (77) ZeniMax Online Studios is responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of The Elder Scrolls Online. Some members of the team also helped develop Doom (2016) and 2018’s Fallout 76, but have presumably focused primarily on online TES since becoming part of Xbox Game Studios in 2021. More: Best Xbox games ever (according to Metacritic)
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