According to the interview by Gamesindustry.biz, Microsoft and Xbox as a whole are showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to bolstering their first-party talent under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella.
Just last year, iconic game studios ended up joining Microsoft with the likes of RPG titans Obsidian and InXile alongside the quality talent of Double Fine Studios and Ninja Theory. A massive move to stay competitive against their most direct competitor on the console front Sony.
“We have really strong support from Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, and Amy Hood, the CFO. And there’s been no signal at all that we should be slowing down, but just to go at a pace that is maintainable for us as a leadership team. We’re always out there talking to people. But it has to be the right opportunity.” – Matt Booty
A smart business decision that led to heated discussions about the future for the Xbox brand in general. You see, ever since the tail-end of the Xbox 360 era, owners of Microsoft’s home console have been lamenting a general lack of support by the platform holder in terms of interest to create great exclusives. This especially became apparent when Sony started releasing masterpiece after masterpiece right around the same time for their system.
Thanks to the management change and the entrance of Phil Spencer as the head of Xbox, things have started to change for the better. A more clear focus on gaming helped win over old fans while bolstering their own talent by studio acquisitions was a sign that the plans for the future were even bigger.
In today’s interview, we learn that the support inside the company with that strategy, in particular, has been coming from way up the top and that future new studio purchases are totally on the table. Seeing how much larger the Xbox Game Studios has gotten already in the past few years, we are foreseeing a golden age for Xbox owners going into next-gen especially.
The interview goes into greater detail by talking to the experiences of Double Fine, Obsidian, and inXile, and is heartily recommended to be read in full. It gives confidence in Microsoft’s new strategy going forward.
