E3 2018 – Xbox Media Conference – Microsoft Acquires New Studios

While Microsoft was announcing a ton of new titles coming to Xbox One – and a number of which are console launch exclusives! – there was a bigger announcement at the event: the acquisition of 5 new studios. Lets look at each of these studios briefly!

Undead Lab

If you the name Undead Labs sounds familiar to you, it is because it should. This developer has recently launched State of Decay 2 on the Xbox One, and now officially joins the Microsoft family and will now develop exclusively for Xbox One. Fans of these games should be excited about what the studio might bring to the Xbox One in the future.

Ninja Theory

Easily the biggest announcement of this event, and perhaps the biggest announcement at E3, Microsoft has acquired Ninja Theory, the company famous for games like Devil May Cry, the recent major success Hellblade, and many other amazing titles. The team at Ninja Theory is always thinking outside the box, and has the personnel to create a wide variety of interesting and fun games. This is HUGE for Microsoft, and for Xbox One owners.

Playground Games

Playground Games has always been developing for Xbox One and for Microsoft, but now this company comes under the Microsoft umbrella. Playground games currently only has one franchise, that of Forza Horizon. While Forza Horizon 4 has been shown off at the Microsoft E3 Press Conference, having the resources behind them might give them more freedom to explore other game types. Whether they continue with racing experiences, or develop something new, future Playground Games titles will only be available on Xbox One!

The Initiative

Microsoft has created this brand new studio and tasked the former head of Crystal Dynamic with bringing the studio to life, and bringing new experiences to Xbox One. Based on the track record of Crystal Dynamic, it will be interesting to see what Microsoft’s newest studio will do on the Xbox One.

Compulsion Games

Compulsion Games has been around since 2013, but only has two games to their name. The PS4 launch title Contrast, and of course the popular and weird game, We Happy Few. Now as an Microsoft Studio, it will be interesting to see where this studio will go from here. With We Happy Few, we have seen this studio take chances that have succeeded. I’m excited to see what they can do with Microsoft’s resources!

Which of these studio acquisitions is most important, or surprising, to you?