Who is Xbox's best first-party developer (revisited after Bethesda acquisition)?
- Thread starter Montresor
- Start date
Playground easily, Forza Horizons are best racing games since NFS Underground 2. Forza Horizon 4 is the best racing game ever
I don't know about that. Startfield, Deathloop and Ghostwire are all new IPs, I really don't know if we are going to see Prey, Dishonored and The Evil Within again...
Rumours were saying that the second team in Arkane is doing a vampire game, Roundhouse is a mystery and I can see Wolfenstein III ending a Trilogy. There is lots of potential for new stuff
Playground has only made fantastic games for an entire gen straight, but tbf so have id and Arkane.
Track record-wise, it's Arkane and Playground. Other studios have duds or long delays.
Arkane's games are slightly niche, but they've made some great great games, no duds for a while now
Almost forgot Playground for FH...It's widely considered the best racer of this gen, yet still underrated...
Arkane's games are slightly niche, but they've made some great great games, no duds for a while now
Almost forgot Playground for FH...It's widely considered the best racer of this gen, yet still underrated...
id is a major contender. Very strong technically and from a game design standpoint.
I would say their top 5 studios for me now are:
If we have to split Arkane into it's two halves, then the Coalition would be 2nd. I looove Prey 2017 but I think some people have moved on and I don't think the studio is working on much I'd be into these days. I hope I'm wrong!
I fully acknowledge that Playground has major technical chops, but I just don't play racing games, so I can't fairly rank them.
From a "big deal in the industry" perspective, Bethesda's core BGS group is the most influential new studio. Fallouts and Elder Scrolls are massive.
I would say their top 5 studios for me now are:
- id
- Arkane (Lyon and Austin both great)
- The Coalition
- MachineGames
- Obsidian
If we have to split Arkane into it's two halves, then the Coalition would be 2nd. I looove Prey 2017 but I think some people have moved on and I don't think the studio is working on much I'd be into these days. I hope I'm wrong!
I fully acknowledge that Playground has major technical chops, but I just don't play racing games, so I can't fairly rank them.
From a "big deal in the industry" perspective, Bethesda's core BGS group is the most influential new studio. Fallouts and Elder Scrolls are massive.
Still Obsidian for me.
I'm very intrigued by Starfield -- a new AAA Sci-Fi RPG is incredibly exciting -- but when it comes down to it, Obsidian is still the best RPG developer out there.
I'm very intrigued by Starfield -- a new AAA Sci-Fi RPG is incredibly exciting -- but when it comes down to it, Obsidian is still the best RPG developer out there.
I mean - id, arkane, playground, .... almost all of them could put out solid stuff in the AA and AAA(A) space at this point, especially if the coffers are open and they arent starved for resources like I suspect all the studios were 5+ years ago.
Obsidian is one of my favorite developers and Forza Horizon is my favorite non-Nintendo exclusive franchise.
Meanwhile the only ZeniMax franchises I like are the ID ones and really even then only as Nintendo Switch technology showcases in the last decade.
The acquisition has been great for anyone who enjoys discussions about video games and people who follow the business side of the industry though. My video game magazine of choice was Next Generation as a kid so I am enjoying that side of it for sure.
Meanwhile the only ZeniMax franchises I like are the ID ones and really even then only as Nintendo Switch technology showcases in the last decade.
The acquisition has been great for anyone who enjoys discussions about video games and people who follow the business side of the industry though. My video game magazine of choice was Next Generation as a kid so I am enjoying that side of it for sure.
Toss up between Rare, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Obsidian. Playground could completely take the throne if Fable ends up being great.
Rares excellent history is too hard to ignore tho, and that includes some of the Xbox work. Viva Pinata and Sea of Thieves are some of the best games the studio has ever made. I'm looking forward to seeing how Everwild turns out.
Rares excellent history is too hard to ignore tho, and that includes some of the Xbox work. Viva Pinata and Sea of Thieves are some of the best games the studio has ever made. I'm looking forward to seeing how Everwild turns out.
Bethesda Game Studios.
I'd say Obsidian if they were larger. As it stands, Elder Scrolls 6 will probably be a dramatically larger game compared to Avowed. That alone means I'll put more time into it.
I'd say Obsidian if they were larger. As it stands, Elder Scrolls 6 will probably be a dramatically larger game compared to Avowed. That alone means I'll put more time into it.
OH man this is hard, i think i gotta give it to The Coalition. I love the games they have put out and the production quality is unmatched sans Turn 10 and Playground, i just happen to like gears a lot too. After that i have to say Id then Arkane. I just got so giddy after reading down the list of all the studios, im 29 atm and wont see the fruits of this till im in my mid 30s but man does it make me excited.
