Microsoft Studios |OT3| I thought they were supposed to be sold off by now

Deleted member 268 · Nov 19, 2018

Pryme said:
Someone has to deliver on the Halo franchise. 343i seem best equipped for the task.

Besr case scenario is they expand enough to form multiple teams to tackle multiple projects. If Playground can do it, so can they.

If the Halo TV show really kicks off in 2020, it can be the boost the series needs, ahead of Infinite.

To be a bit harsh... 343i are like the Clippers in LA.

They're a great organisation but they're not the Lakers and they're not LA's team.

They belong in fucking Seattle, where they actually want a team.

343i's direction of Halo has been borderline catastrophic. Coming off heights as Halo 3, ODST and Reach to lows and mixed bags in 4 and 5 - I don't want to dredge up old arguments, I don't want to denigrate what is obvious an incredibly talented studio, or just be a negative asshole, but to be real frank about it, the people that were put in charge of Halo just weren't right for it.

Halo is barely coherent at this point in the story. The gameplay isn't the same - fun as it is, it just isn't Halo, and all the work they've put into the game to make it play like an "updated Halo" just feels hollow. imo, Halo is in pitiful state right now.

Granted, I've repeatedly claimed Halo Infinite on Game Pass will return the IP to the days of having a million players playing concurrently. The big issue right now though, for me, and this applies to Gears as well, is that is just doesn't feel like Microsoft ever made a big effort to keep the communities engaged and energised. It's a real shame because it's led to a rapid decrease in pop culture relevance.

But I digress. For now, I'm very happy with Coalition's work on Gears. Rod is the man.

343i... not so much. Had Microsoft cut the cheque for Joe Staten early and put him in charge, maybe things could have been different. I'll leave it there, I doubt want to shit up the thread with more negativity right now.

NekuWitTheDraco74 said:
Aren't a lot of the devs at 343i from bungie ?

Eh, I don't think so, but it's really not about how many as who.

Trup1aya · Nov 19, 2018

NekuWitTheDraco74 said:
Aren't a lot of the devs at 343i from bungie ?

No more than 3 people from the Bungie days stayed with 343 iirc. And there was very little interaction between Bungie and 343 during the period where they were simultaneously working for MS.

I could be wrong but I think Stinkles is the only one left.

Rumblebones said:
To be a bit harsh... 343i are like the Clippers in LA.

They're a great organisation but they're not the Lakers and they're not LA's team.

They belong in fucking Seattle, where they actually want a team.

343i's direction of Halo has been borderline catastrophic. Coming off Halo 3, ODST and Reach to 4 and 5 - I don't want to dredge up old arguments, I don't want to denigrate what it obvious an incredibly talented studio, or just be a negative asshole, but to be real frank about it, the people that were put in charge of Halo just weren't right for it.

Halo is barely a coherent at this story. The gameplay isn't the same - fun as it is, it just isn't Halo, and all the work they've put into the game to make it play like an "updated Halo" just feels hollow. imo, Halo is in pitiful state right now.

Granted, I've repeatedly claimed Halo Infinite on Game Pass will return the IP to the days of having a million players playing concurrently. The big issue right now though, for me, and this applies to Gears as well, is that is just doesn't feel like Microsoft ever made a big effort to keep the communities engaged and energised. It's a real shame because it's led to a rapid decrease in pop culture relevance.

But I digress. For now, I'm very happy with Coalition's work on Gears. Rod is the man.

343i... not so much. Had Microsoft cut the cheque for Joe Staten early and put him in charge, maybe things could have been different. I'll leave it there, I doubt want to shit up the thread with more negativity right now.

Eh, I don't think so, but it's really not about how many as who.

I agree. I think TCs approach to building Gears 4 was perfect - they made sure to earn the respect of core fans first. Yes, it was excruciatingly safe, but now they have an appreciation for what needs to stay the same, and what needs to change. I wonder if what happened with H4 informed the approach to Gears 4.

With H4, it seems successfully "changing" halo was more important than appealing to Halo fans. This waypoint article on the history of Halo development reads like a train wreck to me when it comes to how the series direction was decided upon after Reach. I mean, the original creative director wanted to "Change the game so much that we couldn't call it Halo 4". After he left, he felt the H4 that shipped Was too traditional. Talk about out of touch.

I hope Halo: Infinite is what would have succeeded a proper Gears 4 moment for the franchise

Deleted member 3897 · Nov 19, 2018

Is The Crew 2 60 fps on the X? Im reading conflicting reports online.

Deleted member 36493 · Nov 19, 2018

Keeping with my prediction that The Initiative is working on a franchise to rival GTA

jorgejjvr · Nov 19, 2018

Iced_Eagle said:
Welcome! I would assume GamePass would stack if you did it like that, but honestly, I can't be certain since I've never tried.

Some tips:

The Menu button (formerly known as "Start" -- also called the hamburger button) is how you bring up most options throughout the UI. For example, if you're in your games library, press Menu and that's how you get the options to pin it, uninstall, etc.

When you're in a game, and you press the Xbox button, you can then press either X or Y buttons to take a screenshot or video as a short-cut. It shows the prompts when you press the guide button on the screen, but they're easily missed IMO. You can configure resolution, length of clip, etc, in the settings menu (accessible via the guide, and bumper far to the right to access).

In terms of games, you're going to have Game Pass, so you'll find a TON of games through that, to keep your busy for a while. There's a bunch of great games on there, so there will be something you like for sure. I'd recommend getting an external hard drive so you can download a bunch of games at once and check them out, but obviously not necessary.

Any game that's in Game Pass, including its DLC also has a permanent discount for Game Pass subscribers. So if you really like Forza Horizon 4, you can pick up the expansion pass at a bit of a discount. If a game is going to be leaving Game Pass, but you really like it you can also just buy it at a discount before it leaves so you can keep it.

There's a bunch of clubs on Xbox you can join if you're looking to be in a community. For example, there's large groups for RPG gamers, or some groups may be only for specific games. You can chat with people, post screenshots, impressions, ask for recommendations, etc.

Similarly, the LFG functionality is really nice for co-op games. You can post that you're looking for 3 people to play a specific Destiny 2 raid @ 3pm, must speak Spanish and must have mics for example, and people can then see those things and join the group if that sounds good to them. If you're into co-op games, LFG can be a lot better than matchmaking since there's a ton of tags you can use so people know what to expect.

If you also have a gaming PC, don't forget that with Game Pass you can download the Play Anywhere games on the PC when you log in with your same Microsoft account in the store (most people log into their PC's with the same account so it probably just works). Forza Horizon 4, Gears 4, Sea of Thieves, etc.

Thank you! very helpful

Deleted member 268 · Nov 19, 2018

The Coalition

The Initiative

Initiative has really grown on me as a name.

Coalition, sure, but I wish they'd kept the generic Black Tusk over it.

Falcon511 · Nov 19, 2018

Tonky said:
Keeping with my prediction that The Initiative is working on a franchise to rival GTA

Ehhh Red Dead 2 took 3000 people to help develop. I doubt it will be that ambitious or big. I can see it being a big new franchise though. Rivaling GTA, especially going into next gen, will be a tough undertaking.

pswii60 · Nov 19, 2018

fantomena said:
Is The Crew 2 60 fps on the X? Im reading conflicting reports online.

Wrong thread.

Deleted member 36493 · Nov 19, 2018

Falcon511 said:
Ehhh Red Dead 2 took 3000 people to help develop. I doubt it will be that ambitious or big. I can see it being a big new franchise though. Rivaling GTA, especially going into next gen, will be a tough undertaking.

I think they're going to get all the time they need on it. I think we're going to see their game towards the end of next-gen.

Deleted member 268 · Nov 19, 2018

Trup1aya said:
I agree. I think TCs approach to building Gears 4 was perfect - they made sure to earn the respect of core fans first. Yes, it was excruciatingly safe, but now they have an appreciation for what needs to stay the same, and what needs to change. I wonder if what happened with H4 informed the approach to Gears 4.

With H4, it seems successfully "changing" halo was more important than appealing to Halo fans. This waypoint article on the history of Halo development reads like a train wreck to me when it comes to how the series direction was decided upon after Reach. I mean, the original creative director wanted to "Change the game so much that we couldn't call it Halo 4". After he left, he felt the H4 that shipped Was too traditional. Talk about out of touch.

I hope Halo: Infinite is what would have succeeded a proper Gears 4 moment for the franchise

The only problem with Gears now is that Microsoft did absolutely nothing to keep it relevant. No community events, no attempt transmedia promotion with equivalents to Forward Unto Dawn special, no animated shorts, no hyped up commercial campaign and splashes at Comic Con and other fan gathering events - just nothing.

And yes, you can blame that on Xbox being on a tight leash financially for a couple years, but boy, oh boy, did they let that IP lose its lustre.

If I'm Microsoft, that's on the priority list going forward. New IP gets a team assembled around it for that kind of stuff to keep the fans engaged and excited for future games.

As for Halo, I'm just going to leave it at that. I wish they'd put Halo on ice, but Microsoft are too damn scared to try and separate Xbox from it as a platform that can stand on its own. It is what it is.

Thankfully they're hiring more studios, and right now, fuck what anyone says, but Obsidian is the crown jewel.

Aokiji · Nov 19, 2018

Tonky said:
Keeping with my prediction that The Initiative is working on a franchise to rival GTA

that would be a waste of a studio.

Deleted member 3897 · Nov 19, 2018

pswii60 said:
Wrong thread.

Shit.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

Aokiji said:
that would be a waste of a studio.

It is never a waste of a studio to think big and aim even bigger. We essentially got one game from Rockstar this generation, and in the tail end of the generation too.

It looks like they are interested in re-releasing RDR2 on next gen consoles like they did GTA5 as they work on another game, so what is wrong with Microsoft (if they so choose) working on an open world game of this type? CD Projekt Red is doing it, and with a branching story with Cyberpunk.

Dream big or go home. The Initiative is a team that has to dream big.

Aokiji · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
It is never a waste of a studio to think big and aim even bigger. We essentially got one game from Rockstar this generation, and in the tail end of the generation too.

It looks like they are interested in re-releasing RDR2 on next gen consoles like they did GTA5 as they work on another game, so what is wrong with Microsoft (if they so choose) working on an open world game of this type? CD Projekt Red is doing it, and with a branching story with Cyberpunk.

Dream big or go home. The Initiative is a team that has to dream big.

i didnt say dont dream big, but if the studio's first big game is to "rival GTA" that would be a waste of of their first impression *to me. CP2077 is not made to "rival GTA". im not saying they cant make an open world 3rd person action game. it's specifically the "rival GTA" part.

Ushay · Nov 19, 2018

More top tier talent going to Initiative. Very nice.

I just want to know what genre these guys are working on.

Deleted member 268 · Nov 19, 2018

Y'all are straight up crazy if you think Initiative are working on GTA like title in terms of scope.

It's not happening.

For one, it's a brand new studio of people who largely haven't worked together before. They're so early into life of the studio that I bet they don't really even have a concrete plan for what they're going to be working on. They're just in the stage of assembling the right team at its core and working from there.

The reason you don't see other studios make titles like Rockstar is because it takes years and years of experience working towards titles like that.

A studio like that is near enough unheard of and you're not gonna create one from scratch and put them on such a gigantic project from the start.

NekuWitTheDraco74 · Nov 19, 2018

Rumblebones said:
To be a bit harsh... 343i are like the Clippers in LA.

They're a great organisation but they're not the Lakers and they're not LA's team.

They belong in fucking Seattle, where they actually want a team.

343i's direction of Halo has been borderline catastrophic. Coming off heights as Halo 3, ODST and Reach to lows and mixed bags in 4 and 5 - I don't want to dredge up old arguments, I don't want to denigrate what is obvious an incredibly talented studio, or just be a negative asshole, but to be real frank about it, the people that were put in charge of Halo just weren't right for it.

Halo is barely coherent at this point in the story. The gameplay isn't the same - fun as it is, it just isn't Halo, and all the work they've put into the game to make it play like an "updated Halo" just feels hollow. imo, Halo is in pitiful state right now.

Granted, I've repeatedly claimed Halo Infinite on Game Pass will return the IP to the days of having a million players playing concurrently. The big issue right now though, for me, and this applies to Gears as well, is that is just doesn't feel like Microsoft ever made a big effort to keep the communities engaged and energised. It's a real shame because it's led to a rapid decrease in pop culture relevance.

But I digress. For now, I'm very happy with Coalition's work on Gears. Rod is the man.

343i... not so much. Had Microsoft cut the cheque for Joe Staten early and put him in charge, maybe things could have been different. I'll leave it there, I doubt want to shit up the thread with more negativity right now.

Eh, I don't think so, but it's really not about how many as who.

I'll say this.... I don't think 343I is bad for halo or whatever, the story they made is what is bad. The reclaimer saga just didn't seem like a natural progression in the seriesseries. I'm pretty sure they could've made something more interesting with longer development time.

Side note: I think they should've made a spinoff about Locke to let people learn about him more if they never read the books

BladeRunner2099 · Nov 19, 2018

Rumblebones said:
To be a bit harsh... 343i are like the Clippers in LA.

They're a great organisation but they're not the Lakers and they're not LA's team.

They belong in fucking Seattle, where they actually want a team.

343i's direction of Halo has been borderline catastrophic. Coming off heights as Halo 3, ODST and Reach to lows and mixed bags in 4 and 5 - I don't want to dredge up old arguments, I don't want to denigrate what is obvious an incredibly talented studio, or just be a negative asshole, but to be real frank about it, the people that were put in charge of Halo just weren't right for it.

Halo is barely coherent at this point in the story. The gameplay isn't the same - fun as it is, it just isn't Halo, and all the work they've put into the game to make it play like an "updated Halo" just feels hollow. imo, Halo is in pitiful state right now.

Granted, I've repeatedly claimed Halo Infinite on Game Pass will return the IP to the days of having a million players playing concurrently. The big issue right now though, for me, and this applies to Gears as well, is that is just doesn't feel like Microsoft ever made a big effort to keep the communities engaged and energised. It's a real shame because it's led to a rapid decrease in pop culture relevance.

But I digress. For now, I'm very happy with Coalition's work on Gears. Rod is the man.

343i... not so much. Had Microsoft cut the cheque for Joe Staten early and put him in charge, maybe things could have been different. I'll leave it there, I doubt want to shit up the thread with more negativity right now.

Eh, I don't think so, but it's really not about how many as who.

I absolutely agree with you that Halo and Gears really needed a kick in the butt to tell people 10 yrs back, these 2 games ruled the world. They really pushed visuals, story telling, Xbox Live, E-Sports, Horde, Marketing etc.

To be fair to Phil and Xbox, they realized the issue and have pressed reset on both Halo and Gears.

Halo never took a break of more than 3 years, now they are taking all the time, new engine, probably open world, focus on simple yet powerful story, classic Halo art style, music, not chasing trends etc. 343i though have EVERYTHING to prove. I am sure their heart is in the right place and with people like Chris Lee, Tom French etc. They will deliver a great Halo Game.

With Gears, I understand what they did with 4 but other than maybe stopping the hardcore gears fans from abandoning the ship, Gears 4 did very little as a major AAA game when MS NEEDED a Great Gears game, they made a decent game. With Rod at XO18 saying they will really deliver somethin unique in terms of gameplay, art direction and story, it should be a great Gears game.

I really want to see Halo and Gears reach the 90+ metacritic again.

Deleted member 36493 · Nov 19, 2018

Rumblebones said:
A studio like that is near enough unheard of and you're not gonna create one from scratch and put them on such a gigantic project from the start.

AAAA tho

BladeRunner2099 · Nov 19, 2018

Ushay said:
More top tier talent going to Initiative. Very nice.

I just want to know what genre these guys are working on.

New IP I hopefully, I fear working on a previous dormant MS IP will just bring up comparisons and pressure, I think a new IP will mean they can go crazy in terms of story telling and gameplay and not stick to what game X was and appeal to a few hardcore fans of that title/franchise.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

Aokiji said:
i didnt say dont dream big, but if the studio's first big game is to "rival GTA" that would be a waste of of their first impression *to me. CP2077 is not made to "rival GTA". im not saying they cant make an open world 3rd person action game. it's specifically the "rival GTA" part.

They have been given a mandate to come up with something that could be a mainstay of the Xbox brand. They are getting so much top tier talent, it is crazy.

If they want to make a game that rivals GTA, so be it. If they choose to go something similar to RDR then so be it. Years ago, Microsoft opened a studio with hopes that they could rival Gran Turismo. Turn 10 in their first game knocked it out of the park. They had issues with framerate (and you can see why they pay so much attention to that), but they put the whole racing development world on notice.

If Darrell Gallagher and his team believe they can make something to rival any of the big name games we see, then let them chase that dream because whatever they put out will be compared to something. There is not a lot of innovation that goes into the biggest titles in the world......people more often than not tend to play it safe.

Rumblebones said:
Y'all are straight up crazy if you think Initiative are working on GTA like title in terms of scope.

It's not happening.

For one, it's a brand new studio of people who largely haven't worked together before. They're so early into life of the studio that I bet they don't really even have a concrete plan for what they're going to be working on. They're just in the stage of assembling the right team at its core and working from there.

The reason you don't see other studios make titles like Rockstar is because it takes years and years of experience working towards titles like that.

A studio like that is near enough unheard of and you're not gonna create one from scratch and put them on such a gigantic project from the start.

I do not know what they are making, I doubt that they have even decided what they are going to pursue.

That said, you are not hiring the people they are hiring to go after some small project. I want the to take their time, especially now that Microsoft has enough studios to give them the time they need to really chase something special.

BladeRunner2099 · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
It is never a waste of a studio to think big and aim even bigger. We essentially got one game from Rockstar this generation, and in the tail end of the generation too.

It looks like they are interested in re-releasing RDR2 on next gen consoles like they did GTA5 as they work on another game, so what is wrong with Microsoft (if they so choose) working on an open world game of this type? CD Projekt Red is doing it, and with a branching story with Cyberpunk.

Dream big or go home. The Initiative is a team that has to dream big.

I think when you bring such talented people, the ambition and budgets will be super high but what I want to see is just a SOLID core, great gameplay, story telling, art direction and marketing. Whether it will be a God of War, RDR2 etc. will happen organically.

Don't want to see MS ask Initiative to release a game by 2021, I just don't think 3/3.5 years is enough to make a GREAT GREAT game. Zelda, RDR2, God of War, Witcher 3 all took close to 5 years or more. So, give them time to perfect and polish.

Aokiji · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
If they want to make a game that rivals GTA, so be it. If they choose to go something similar to RDR then so be it. Years ago, Microsoft opened a studio with hopes that they could rival Gran Turismo. Turn 10 in their first game knocked it out of the park. They had issues with framerate (and you can see why they pay so much attention to that), but they put the whole racing development world on notice.

the difference with this is GT was not on xbox lol

Rumblebones said:
Y'all are straight up crazy if you think Initiative are working on GTA like title in terms of scope.

It's not happening.

For one, it's a brand new studio of people who largely haven't worked together before. They're so early into life of the studio that I bet they don't really even have a concrete plan for what they're going to be working on. They're just in the stage of assembling the right team at its core and working from there.

The reason you don't see other studios make titles like Rockstar is because it takes years and years of experience working towards titles like that.

A studio like that is near enough unheard of and you're not gonna create one from scratch and put them on such a gigantic project from the start.

thank you lol.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

BladeRunner2099 said:
I think when you bring such talented people, the ambition and budgets will be super high but what I want to see is just a SOLID core, great gameplay, story telling, art direction and marketing. Whether it will be a God of War, RDR2 etc. will happen organically.

Don't want to see MS ask Initiative to release a game by 2021, I just don't think 3/3.5 years is enough to make a GREAT GREAT game. Zelda, RDR2, God of War, Witcher 3 all took close to 5 years or more. So, give them time to perfect and polish.

Microsoft is no longer under the pressure they were under to push out games on short notice. Said it in a post above, this studio can take the time they need to push a game out seeing the amount of studios that Microsoft have under their belt. You cannot also discount what the publishing arm will be up to seeing the renewed appetite for investment that Microsoft seems to have in the gaming department.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

Aokiji said:
the difference with this is GT was not on xbox lol

thank you lol.

There was a game called Sega GT 2002 on that console, lol. Gaming history.

Kiekura · Nov 19, 2018

Tonky said:
Keeping with my prediction that The Initiative is working on a franchise to rival GTA

Yeah not going to happen. Seriously what is up with this thread and people's expectations.

Do you people understand how long rockstar have been making open world games and GTA games. And how big budgets and how many people they have working for their games.

You can't compare something like Turn 10 and Forza challenging GT. That was actually plausible.

Saying that Initiave can be on same level as Naughty Dog or CDPR is plausible, but even that will most likely take years and could not happen with their first game.

It is going to be excellent studio and can be top studios in industry

pswii60 · Nov 19, 2018

I think it's more likely The Initiative is going to work on a more linear, narrative driven game given Darrell's history.

But ultimately, they'll be doing their own thing, not trying to emulate someone else's thing. He said his mandate from Microsoft is to do something "groundbreaking".

Ebtesam · Nov 19, 2018

Tonky said:
Keeping with my prediction that The Initiative is working on a franchise to rival GTA

we don't want them to rival R* Or any other Studios All we want is a great game with great Story....

pswii60 said:
I think it's more likely The Initiative is going to work on a more linear, narrative driven game given Darrell's history.

But ultimately, they'll be doing their own thing, not trying to emulate someone else's thing. He said his mandate from Microsoft is to do something "groundbreaking".

and if they want to make The (groundbreaking) thing to happen they need to make they own game with think of rival any Studios at all

Deleted member 268 · Nov 19, 2018

NekuWitTheDraco74 said:
I'll say this.... I don't think 343I is bad for halo or whatever, the story they made is what is bad. The reclaimer saga just didn't seem like a natural progression in the seriesseries. I'm pretty sure they could've made something more interesting with longer development time.

Side note: I think they should've made a spinoff about Locke to let people learn about him more if they never read the books

The most frustrating thing about 343i on Halo is that's a marriage of two incredible things that don't work mix well.

Honestly, they should have left Chief on Forward Unto Dawn and just carried on the story from the perspective of Locke and brought Chief back later down the line in a smaller role.

BladeRunner2099 said:
I absolutely agree with you that Halo and Gears really needed a kick in the butt to tell people 10 yrs back, these 2 games ruled the world. They really pushed visuals, story telling, Xbox Live, E-Sports, Horde, Marketing etc.

To be fair to Phil and Xbox, they realized the issue and have pressed reset on both Halo and Gears.

Halo never took a break of more than 3 years, now they are taking all the time, new engine, probably open world, focus on simple yet powerful story, classic Halo art style, music, not chasing trends etc. 343i though have EVERYTHING to prove. I am sure their heart is in the right place and with people like Chris Lee, Tom French etc. They will deliver a great Halo Game.

With Gears, I understand what they did with 4 but other than maybe stopping the hardcore gears fans from abandoning the ship, Gears 4 did very little as a major AAA game when MS NEEDED a Great Gears game, they made a decent game. With Rod at XO18 saying they will really deliver somethin unique in terms of gameplay, art direction and story, it should be a great Gears game.

I really want to see Halo and Gears reach the 90+ metacritic again.

It's sad, but I think the best days of both IP are likely behind them.

Gears still has a chance though. But they gotta lean into the horror survival aspects and they need to embrace the crowds that come with that.

Tonky said:
AAAA tho

An as-of-yet undefined mission statement.

gremlinz1982 said:
I do not know what they are making, I doubt that they have even decided what they are going to pursue.

That said, you are not hiring the people they are hiring to go after some small project. I want the to take their time, especially now that Microsoft has enough studios to give them the time they need to really chase something special.

The fact they're not going to make a Rockstar calibre game doesn't mean they're working on a small project.

daniel77733 · Nov 19, 2018

12Danny123 said:
The reason likely because Phil Spencer wasn't until late 2017 promoted to the top exec of MS at the table, so they didn't have the access to funding before hand and remember they were still under the Windows Division before the reorganisation. So I won't be surprised if IO turned to MS to be acquired and will likely be business as usual aside from the loss of PS4-5 as a platform.

True. Forgot about that.

Rumblebones said:
My only concern here is that it's kind of shitty for PS4 players if the game immediately stopped coming to their platform, and I'm not sure if Phil would do that, but then again they could've have avoided that and I think several games had several exclusives releases with PS4 despite being multiplatform before. I guess it's justifiable.

As for IO, I don't know about cheaper, but I would think they'd be more willing to be acquired than before.

Personally, despite being heavily favored towards PlayStation, I wouldn't have a problem with their games not going to PlayStation especially if it means keeping IO Interactive alive, then im all for it. I'm one of those gamers who has no problem with a hardware manufacturer acquiring development studios and putting them under their first party banner. It makes the hardware manufacturer stronger when it comes to software. Or at least it should.

Yeah, maybe not cheaper but I do think that it would be a great move for both Microsoft and IO Interactive especially when you factor in Game Pass.

Morgoth Bauglir · Nov 19, 2018

DopeyFish said:
This is mainly because games start becoming more like F2P in the service. The one downside to that is it's going to give some developers the desire to do GAAS stuff. If MS sticks to the mantra of anything goes, hopefully that will be more limited towards third party titles. Though through the Ninja Theory and Obsidian announcements, it appears they're primarily targeting single player experience which is good.

They have to do some targeting with MP games, though. Just throwing everything at everyone will eventually lead to a lot of fracturing.... so there needs to be a big curation aspect.

The gaas aspects right now are one of my favorite things if the generation, I keep returning on rocket league and raimbow six an so on.

Rumblebones said:
Prophetic.

Unleash Satya's credit card

Slowsonic said:
I know it's proven that Gamepass actually boosted first party games sales so far, but I can't stop wondering how would it affect the true juggernaut titles if they would come in day one onto gamepass.

I refer to the titles with top tier in production value, GTA, RDR, Halo or Last of us tier, the ones bleed money in every pixel and frame, the kind of games that when comes out, your non-gamer colleagues know and talk about, will game pass affect the sales negatively?

I wonder that because it's truly an uncharted territory, it would be like Avenger 3/4 debut both in cinema and Netflix. I guess we will find out once the new halo comes out.

Boosting gamepass would cover losses on the long term, right now creating the Netflix of gaming is a rush for gold.

OneBadMutha said:
The problem for IO is Hitman is a AAA niche IP. It's not a strong enough IP with broad appeal for a 300 person studio. I wish IO would be given the chance to take the Hitman gameplay formula to other genres. Basically make open sandbox levels with refined action gameplay and setting.

Stealth is a hard sell. Outside of Splinter Cell and MGS, stealth games have a niche audience. If someone approaches Hitman as an action game, it gets old real quick.

IO is very talented and it would suck if a talented studio who can make high quality games goes under because they're stuck to one IP that casuals don't care about.

Hitman could never receive the success of MGS or Splinter Cell because it's focus is deeper and less clear than those franchise , hitman basically let you alone in a huge map and a target to kill. It could never work for casual market

Kasey said:
I wonder if Phil is going to work on getting the marketing rights for Destiny (or Bungie's next IP). A revitalized Halo + strong association with Bungie would signal to many lapsed Xbox fans that the golden years are coming back, I think.

Bungie right now isn't in its best spot ever

daniel77733 said:
While Hitman isn't for me, when Square Enix let IO Interactive go, Microsoft should have acquired them as Hitman is the perfect game for Game Pass because you're playing as a contracted killer so you take one assignment, execute it and then a few weeks or a month later, you get your next contract. Xbox One would have an exclusive right now of high quality and it would have fit perfectly on Game Pass. Really don't understand why Microsoft didn't go after them. Oh well. Hitman 2 doing bad could allow Io Interactive to be acquired for less money, maybe?

Just wait, no one will let go such a strong studio

SpinierBlakeD said:
Is Bleeding Edge a working title or is that the actual name of Ninja Theory's next game?

Yes among Uprez. I believe that those are the first two games of the "several projects" they mentioned back in july

christocolus said:
Gears 5 could really jump start the series.

https://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/11/18/gears-of-war-5-xbox-one-pc-never-seen-before/

Hoping that won't jump too much and build on 4 strengths

Rumblebones said:
Why is this a dream?

My only concern here is that it's kind of shitty for PS4 players if the game immediately stopped coming to their platform, and I'm not sure if Phil would do that, but then again they could've have avoided that and I think several games had several exclusives releases with PS4 despite being multiplatform before. I guess it's justifiable.

As for IO, I don't know about cheaper, but I would think they'd be more willing to be acquired than before.

Unconfirmed. Most of us assumed it was the name of the game but I'm starting to think it's the name of the engine built for it or both.

It's a good fit with Microsoft but bear in mind money talks and it will likely come down who puts up the best plan.

I just need to see more of this game. I'm excited for it now but I'm just really curious what it looks like.

Depends on the fate of the "hitman" trademarks, it could remain with SE

Bits N Pieces said:
IO won't be on the shopping list for Xbox. Nearly two hundred staff in Denmark won't come cheap add into that they seem to be on a downward trajectory and it just doesn't make business sense.

There's much better value out there.

Like? Basically I can't find another indipendenti studio like IO after the Obsidian thing. OK Bungie, Insomniac and Gearbox are bigger but way out of reach

Black Mantis said:
I think it will. I don't think I've been this excited for a Gears game, the ending of 4 and the E3 2018 trailer shows they've given real thought and have confidence in where they're taking the franchise.

My only worry is that they are trying to chasing trends like exploration

fantomena said:
Update on my X problem: Loading is a lot better now, however, I still have problems with loading the meny tabs (mixer, community, game pass and store) and so far this can be solved by either switching from 2,4 ghz to 5 ghz wifi and vice verse and/or doing a soft boot (hold Xbox buttton on controller and turn off) or doing a hard boot (hold Xbox button on the console), but this just solved it occasionally. Sometimes all the menu tabs loads find after doing the different boots and/or switching wifi, sometimes only mixer and community loads, other times none of them loads and I have to wait for a few min until they load.

Really weird problem.

A game dev is working on a project?

News is that inXile just released a game months ago and is developing another one fore the next year, it's pretty big news to me

Chettlar · Nov 19, 2018

I know I know, pessimist me. Probably surprising

But I'm so damn excited for The Initiative. Remember how Playground was pulled together from veterans of some of the best studios around? Now that's happening with The Initiative. And oh my gosh I'm excited.

Give me something good Microsoft.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

Rumblebones said:
The fact they're not going to make a Rockstar calibre game doesn't mean they're working on a small project.

Whatever they make will eventually be compared to something. It will be inspired by something and competing in a genre with several games.

You rarely get that game that is unlike anything that has been done before like Bioshock last generation. That type of innovation is not there in a lot of big titles. So whatever they make will eventually be compared to something. I personally think that they may end up making something that is similar to Tomb Raider or Uncharted than they will a GTA, possibly with a larger scope. Even then, it will be compared to those two games, so it a horrible take to say that if they try and rival this or that developer it is a wasted opportunity.

Some people do not even know that Jaffe said that he was inspired by Onimusha, not hard to see that they borrowed a lot from Devil may cry....same as team ninja when they did Ninja Gaiden. Like sports, game development is a copy cat industry.

This is the point I am trying to make.

MosquitoSmasher · Nov 19, 2018

Rumblebones said:
Y'all are straight up crazy if you think Initiative are working on GTA like title in terms of scope.

It's not happening.

For one, it's a brand new studio of people who largely haven't worked together before. They're so early into life of the studio that I bet they don't really even have a concrete plan for what they're going to be working on. They're just in the stage of assembling the right team at its core and working from there.

The reason you don't see other studios make titles like Rockstar is because it takes years and years of experience working towards titles like that.

A studio like that is near enough unheard of and you're not gonna create one from scratch and put them on such a gigantic project from the start.

Oh they have already said this themselves too? I wasn't aware of that yet.

Either way Nobody should expect a GTA, absolutely not in terms of the almost obsession for details (which I love Rockstar for) when studios like Ubi and others don't even do that. Even though Ubi did create a very nice game world with WD2 in my opinion.

But it's clear they are building a "dream team" there at The Initiative and man do I want to see what they have planned. I absolutely don't believe for a second all of this manpower and talent will be "just" for a MP game or a game where the bigger focus is MP with a small part being SP. I know some seem to think that.

Aokiji · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
There was a game called Sega GT 2002 on that console, lol. Gaming history.

GT = Gran Turismo...like you mentioned. no idea what sega GT has to do with that

Cyberia · Nov 19, 2018

Taylo207 said:
Do we know who the game director is for the Initiative?

I guess it's pretty safe to assume it's Dan Neuburger.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-neuburger-58622495/

Deleted member 268 · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
Whatever they make will eventually be compared to something. It will be inspired by something and competing in a genre with several games.

You rarely get that game that is unlike anything that has been done before like Bioshock last generation. That type of innovation is not there in a lot of big titles. So whatever they make will eventually be compared to something. I personally think that they may end up making something that is similar to Tomb Raider or Uncharted than they will a GTA, possibly with a larger scope. Even then, it will be compared to those two games, so it a horrible take to say that if they try and rival this or that developer it is a wasted opportunity.

Some people do not even know that Jaffe said that he was inspired by Onimusha, not hard to see that they borrowed a lot from Devil may cry....same as team ninja when they did Ninja Gaiden. Like sports, game development is a copy cat industry.

This is the point I am trying to make.

MosquitoSmasher said:
Oh they have already said this themselves too? I wasn't aware of that yet.

Either way Nobody should expect a GTA, absolutely not in terms of the almost obsession for details (which I love Rockstar for) when studios like Ubi and others don't even do that. Even though Ubi did create a very nice game world with WD2 in my opinion.

But it's clear they are building a "dream team" there at The Initiative and man do I want to see what they have planned. I absolutely don't believe for a second all of this manpower and talent will be "just" for a MP game or a game where the bigger focus is MP with a small part being SP. I know some seem to think that.

A Rockstar calibre project is not something that's to be assumed.

If they were working on a gigantic project like that, you would know that. Their mission statement would be clearer than AAAA.

Let's not over complicate this.

The most glaring absence in Xbox first party is an action adventure game.

Phil has talked about it on several occasions. He's referenced Tomb Raider and Uncharted on several occasions.

The studio head of this new blockbuster studio is who? A developer most famously associated with Tomb Raider.

Let's start there.

This talk of Rockstar calibre games is way out of whack with what's feasible and realistic.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

Aokiji said:
GT = Gran Turismo...like you mentioned. no idea what sega GT has to do with that

You are clutching at straws here. Microsoft had racing games in Rallisport and PGR, they already had an exclusive on their platform that was a sim in Sega GT 2002. They wanted something done in house that could be a far better sim.

If you think that these huge publishers/platform holders care about what they are competing with in the third party space, then you have not been gaming for long, or at least have not been paying much attention to the goings around gaming. Forza Horizon essentially took on open world racing games and conquered all.

Anything The Initiative puts out will be compared to something else. They will no doubt borrow a lot that has been done in gaming this generation and last generation. There is no doubt that they will bring in a lot of stuff from a good amount of games that perform well early next gen too.

It will be compared to someone even if it is not R*. By your assessment, anything like that would have been a wasted opportunity. Nope, this does not register in how games are made.

gremlinz1982 · Nov 19, 2018

Rumblebones said:
A Rockstar calibre project is not something that's to be assumed.

If they were working on a gigantic project like that, you would know that. Their mission statement would be clearer than AAAA.

Let's not over complicate this.

The most glaring absence in Xbox first party is an action adventure game.

Phil has talked about it on several occasions. He's referenced Tomb Raider and Uncharted on several occasions.

The studio head of this new blockbuster studio is who? A developer most famously associated with Tomb Raider.

Let's start there.

This talk of Rockstar calibre games is way out of whack with what's feasible and realistic.

I think they are going to be doing a game that rivals something like Uncharted and Tomb Raider. That is just my opinion, and it is an opinion I gave when they announced this studio if you look at my post history. Whatever they are going to be working on is not even decided yet, I doubt that they even have a story arch figured out.

You seem to be ignoring that my point in not even what game they are making. That is at least three years out from reveal IMO. What is important in the context of what is being discussed, especially what has taken my interest is that no matter what they do, it will be compared to something else.

NekuWitTheDraco74 · Nov 19, 2018

What if the coalition made a horror game based on civilian survivors during the initial invasion

Morgoth Bauglir · Nov 19, 2018

https://industryuseng-ms.icims.com/...dsRedirect=false&jan1offset=60&jun1offset=120
https://industryuseng-ms.icims.com/...edirect=false&jan1offset=-480&jun1offset=-420
Two new more jobs opened on 343 site
pretty interesting reads

Slowsonic · Nov 19, 2018

Yep, Rockstar is on their own league right now. they were already among the top since GTA 3, but with GTA5 they have ascended to a new level.

As seen in RDR2, the scope, the level of attention to details and the all-around polish is simply not something can be pulled off by a new studio, no matter how talented their top employees are.

Aokiji · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
You are clutching at straws here. Microsoft had racing games in Rallisport and PGR, they already had an exclusive on their platform that was a sim in Sega GT 2002. They wanted something done in house that could be a far better sim.

If you think that these huge publishers/platform holders care about what they are competing with in the third party space, then you have not been gaming for long, or at least have not been paying much attention to the goings around gaming. Forza Horizon essentially took on open world racing games and conquered all.

Anything The Initiative puts out will be compared to something else. They will no doubt borrow a lot that has been done in gaming this generation and last generation. There is no doubt that they will bring in a lot of stuff from a good amount of games that perform well early next gen too.

It will be compared to someone even if it is not R*. By your assessment, anything like that would have been a wasted opportunity. Nope, this does not register in how games are made.

i have no idea what you are even arguing anymore. my original point was, for them to be making that studio for their first game to be a "gta rival" would be a waste of their time. period. idk how you derailed that into they wont be competing

Biggzy · Nov 19, 2018

gremlinz1982 said:
I think they are going to be doing a game that rivals something like Uncharted and Tomb Raider. That is just my opinion, and it is an opinion I gave when they announced this studio if you look at my post history. Whatever they are going to be working on is not even decided yet, I doubt that they even have a story arch figured out.

You seem to be ignoring that my point in not even what game they are making. That is at least three years out from reveal IMO. What is important in the context of what is being discussed, especially what has taken my interest is that no matter what they do, it will be compared to something else.

I think they will develop an action adventure game along the lines of Uncharted/Tomb Raider as well. This is purely based on what Phil Spencer said a couple of years ago about wanting an exclusive franchise for each type of genre.

Microsoft does not have one for the action adventure genre and so this where the initiative comes in I feel.

Kasey · Nov 19, 2018

I hope their game isn't like Uncharted or Tomb Raider. Would completely lose interest if that were the case.

SpinierBlakeD · Nov 19, 2018

NekuWitTheDraco74 said:
I'll say this.... I don't think 343I is bad for halo or whatever, the story they made is what is bad. The reclaimer saga just didn't seem like a natural progression in the seriesseries. I'm pretty sure they could've made something more interesting with longer development time.

Side note: I think they should've made a spinoff about Locke to let people learn about him more if they never read the books

Idk, Halo 4 was the only game in the series with a story I found interesting. Granted, I've never been a Halo fan.

coma · Nov 19, 2018

Halo 4 showed that 343 can make a solid campaign. Halo 5 showed that 343 can make solid multiplayer. Infinite will probably be amazing.

bsigg · Nov 19, 2018

Slowsonic said:
Yep, Rockstar is on their own league right now. they were already among the top since GTA 3, but with GTA5 they have ascended to a new level.

As seen in RDR2, the scope, the level of attention to details and the all-around polish is simply not something can be pulled off by a new studio, no matter how talented their top employees are.

That is mostly due to the amount of time and resources Rockstar poured into the game. They're the only devs that are going to get the blank check to do something like that thanks to the popularity of GTAO and it making GTAV this super GaaS product that continues to sell new copies years after release.

I'm sure if Microsoft gave The Initiative 5 years and $300+ million dollars, we could see something on that scale

ThereAreFourNaan · Nov 19, 2018

I have to imagine that the green light was given to put serious work into MCC whenever it became clear to management that there wouldn't be a Halo launching in the 2018 / 2019 timeframe. At least, I'm pretty sure it's not 2019 given they announced no year but did for Gears 5.

I'm thinking 2020 for Infinite and most likely targeting cross-gen launch title window. Is that roughly consensus?

SpinierBlakeD · Nov 19, 2018

Kasey said:
I hope their game isn't like Uncharted or Tomb Raider. Would completely lose interest if that were the case.

Opposite boat here. Uncharted is an amazing franchise.

Microsoft Studios |OT3| I thought they were supposed to be sold off by now

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