Sad day, real shame, guess they will be making a lot more half baked game from here on in. and will be using windows store to sell the games on.
I wonder how long they will last under MS? before MS decides to make the studios bad and close them down?
Probably not too long. We all expected Obsidian to fall under M$, but Inxile? I didn’t see that coming. I’m going to pray every day that Crate and Larian don’t share a similar fate. I have no interest in buying my games in Windows Store or on XBox,
will be using windows store to sell the games on.
They will appear on windows store. Selling something on windows store is near impossible, cause no one want to use that abomination. :rolleyes:
So far I think we are ‘safe’, at least where Crate is concerned.
Plus, I think (at this time) MS is only interested in game devs of a certain ‘size’. and so far Crate is nowhere near that size.
Corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios Matt Booty said in a statement: “The 13 distinct and diverse game development teams that form Microsoft Studios are focused on implementing new Microsoft technologies, delivering content for new platforms and services like Xbox Game Pass, and creating exclusive games that turn players into loyal Xbox fans. We are committed to expanding the Microsoft Studios franchises players already love, and investing in new, exclusive content for every type of gamer.”
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz in August, Booty said: ""I don’t want to seem like we’re going out to fill a quota. It’s not about filling a spreadsheet by any means. We will, however, have an interest in studios right now that fit this criteria of 50 to 100 people, who are making games on a two to three year cadence, and have content that we think will be of interest to our Game Pass subscribers. That means content that is a little different to what our big AAA franchises can deliver.
Ultimately I don’t think this will be bad for them, since MS basically wants these studios to keep doing what they’re already doing, rather than devour them and spit out the remains like EA and Activision do. Yes, their games will likely be windows store exclusives and only available for windows 10/Xbox One, but they’ll also have the money and resources (namely QA) to do an even better job, if not tangle with larger projects. And we all know how badly both studios need help on the QA front…
Also, the studios will likely be safe for this and next console generation if MS’s new strategy pays off. Since the Xbox One has suffered from a lack of good exclusives, on top of MS’s initial, stupid PR strategy for the Xbox One as a media centre “thing”. So it’s not a complete disaster unless you’re a MacOS/Linux only gamer or refuse to use the Windows Store.
Crate devs are not sell outs fact.
That is why independent companies, are the way to support.
I stopped buying ea games and what not.
Also microsoft has not bought obsidian, they said they are thinking of it.
Also Obsidian made sub par to ok games, the only real hit they have ever made was pillars of eternity.
I would have said KOTOR 2, NWN2 and Fallout: NV were hits also.
(And better games than Pillars.)
If you knew, what’s wrong with Obsidian these days, then you would know, that this is actually good news.