• Light/Dark

Xbox Game Studios + Bethesda + ABK |OT30| Why So Series X|S?

Should there be a new OT?

  • Yes

    Votes: 388 51.7%

  • No

    Votes: 363 48.3%
  • Total voters
    751
Reader mode
That1GoodHunter

That1GoodHunter

My ass legally belongs to Ted Price
Member
Oct 17, 2019
10,918
shinobi602 said:
Brad sums it up well here (an ex-Microsoft/EA guy):

PW1veHM.png


I kept quiet when the Bethesda->ABK buyouts happened, but I saw this coming a mile away. Spending $80B of Microsoft's war chest chasing growth was always going to invite all the vultures home to roost. Microsoft wants their ROI and they want it now. It's a part of why you'll see more and more multiplats.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think this is where shit is really going to hit the fan for Xbox. They are going to have to choose between putting COD on Gamepass and and having PlayStation + Gamepass subs money hopefully cushion the insane amount of revenue they are going to lose, or keep the games from Gamepass and obliterate the goodwill they have built up with the platform.
 
headspawn

headspawn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,661
they're lighting an absolute dumpster fire before hellblade 2 launch, that's gotta feel awful for that studio to have the entirety of their prelaunch become blotted out by a crater of a mess because detached execs doing dumb shit.
 
Azerth

Azerth

Prophet of Truth - Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,264
booty couldnt even spell the name of the studios correctly
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
56,153
I still don't see how CoD on game pass will obliterate sales. At most it would be impacted by PC Game Pass but how many people on PC play regular COD vs Warzone. They have yet to raise PCGP pricing but also want to grow that the most, so...
 
Banamy

Banamy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,461
I wonder if each studio is gonna have a mobile game to fund the other games at this point. Baffling that so many Xbox games don't have mobile.
 
canderous

canderous

Prophet of Truth
Member
Jun 12, 2020
8,810
BananasWithGuns said:
There's pretty much zero chance that the live crowd for the McCaffrey interview is still going to happen right? Assuming they even still do it at all.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You might be overestimating how much people care about this a month from now. Plus everyone's gonna be high off what was just shown at the showcase. I think it will still happen. Definitely a possibility of some hecklers.
 
Gavalanche

Gavalanche

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 21, 2021
18,223
Can you imagine Booty being your boss. Tango was just closed. You attend town hall worried about your future and Matt Booty says, "we need smaller games that give us prestige and awards." Wouldn't you a) think he was the biggest moron in existence and b you were well and truly fucked?
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
56,153
DontHateTheBacon said:
Why would you buy it if you subscribe to Game Pass?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Who is the person subscribed to game pass? A console player? They will need Ultimate to play the game. That means they just have to stay subbed for like 4 months to break even.

Its the pc gamer with no online fee they have to worry about. But pc gamers are fickle and wont shy away from steam much anyway. And they prob mostly play cod via warzone which is f2p. Nobody i know ever plays cod mp only warzone on pc
 
Arc

Arc

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,569
vixolus said:
I still don't see how CoD on game pass will obliterate sales. At most it would be impacted by PC Game Pass but how many people on PC play regular COD vs Warzone. They have yet to raise PCGP pricing but also want to grow that the most, so...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is easy for Microsoft to model. How many GamePass subscribers purchased CoD last year? The should have that number. Now take that number of accounts, multiply it by $70, and that's the revenue hit to ABK (the only area of Xbox that's growing).

Sure, it will be somewhat offset by new subs, but all of the reporting is indicating that the growth isn't there.
 
DontHateTheBacon

DontHateTheBacon

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,644
vixolus said:
Who is the person subscribed to game pass? A console player? They will need Ultimate to play the game. That means they just have to stay subbed for like 4 months to break even.

Its the pc gamer with no online fee they have to worry about. But pc gamers are fickle and wont shy away from steam much anyway. And they prob mostly play cod via warzone which is f2p. Nobody i know ever plays cod mp only warzone on pc
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I have Ultimate, for three years for $150. I'm sure I'm not the only console gamer that took advantage of that deal. The math isn't as straightforward as you think.

It's going to be fascinating to see COD's impact on Game Pass, one way or the other. And all of this is assuming this year's COD is a good one, lol.
 
DidactBRHU3

DidactBRHU3

Member
Oct 17, 2019
3,049
Fortaleza - Ceará
What a sad week for Xbox, they deserve everything that's being thrown at them. I don't remember a single showcase/E3 where they had positive momentum PR wise ever since 2013 even though they were great shows.

In this timeline truly seems like "Xbox can never win" as Kyle Bosman puts it.
 
Rychu

Rychu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,432
Utah, USA
vixolus said:
I still don't see how CoD on game pass will obliterate sales. At most it would be impacted by PC Game Pass but how many people on PC play regular COD vs Warzone. They have yet to raise PCGP pricing but also want to grow that the most, so...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think the Xbox console sales would be obliterated, most Xbox owners subscribe to Game Pass and COD is best selling game on Xbox every year, losing $70 sales.
 
Tuxedo38

Tuxedo38

Member
Apr 7, 2022
429
Gavalanche said:
Can you imagine Booty being your boss. Tango was just closed. You attend town hall worried about your future and Matt Booty says, "we need smaller games that give us prestige and awards." Wouldn't you a) think he was the biggest moron in existence and b you were well and truly fucked?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I wonder if this is his way of making his disagreement with the decision known without getting in trouble because it's such a baffling statement any other way I read it. Like they were explicitly told they had to cut X number of studios/workers no matter what and this was the end result. Maybe I'm being charitable to Booty, but it's such a crazy statement to make after yesterday.
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
56,153
Rychu said:
I think the Xbox console sales would be obliterated, most Xbox owners subscribe to Game Pass and COD is best selling game on Xbox every year, losing $70 sales.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
But again they would likely stick around because it is call of duty. They would need Ultimate to play it. Its been shown that people will still buy retail games even if its available, especially the bigger titles. Plus the mtx upsells.
 
ShadowGldtr

ShadowGldtr

Member
Mar 26, 2024
34
Zebesian-X said:

View: https://x.com/rafcolantonio/status/1788385688242553278?s=46&t=gbYgL_rvpbF6qlAMTodElw
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


I definitely get the anger at it, but Arkane Austin is not the same studio that did the dishonored games based on the 70% turnover and didn't do a good job of showing their potential with how Redfall turned out after a delay and with the relatively small changes made a year after launch. FO76 had major changes within a year and an expansion 1.5 years after that completely changed the game. Based on the reporting, it seems like there was minimal changes to Redfall based on the timeframe.

It absolutely sucks that people lost their jobs, but corporations can't and shouldn't just light money on fire when things aren't working in the hopes they magically change. This same sentiment goes to how The Initiative is performing at the moment and why I think Perfect Dark won't see the light of day.
 
jungius

jungius

Member
Sep 5, 2021
2,609
this is uhh seems bit crazy but is there chance they will close blizzard to keep the cod activision and wow dev part to cut the fat?
 
Caiusto

Caiusto

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,003
ShadowGldtr said:
I definitely get the anger at it, but Arkane Austin is not the same studio that did the dishonored games based on the 70% turnover and didn't do a good job of showing their potential with how Redfall turned out after a delay and with the relatively small changes made a year after launch. FO76 had major changes within a year and an expansion 1.5 years after that completely changed the game. Based on the reporting, it seems like there was minimal changes to Redfall based on the timeframe.

It absolutely sucks that people lost their jobs, but corporations can't and shouldn't just light money on fire when things aren't working in the hopes they magically change. This same sentiment goes to how The Initiative is performing at the moment and why I think Perfect Dark won't see the light of day.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, I remember a big argument from articles shitting on Redfall was how the game was so bad and so not what the studio wanted to work on that a lot of devs left the studio, also they had to hire a lot of new people because it was a multiplayer game.

So I don't know, could the team that made Redfall make a good game after it? Based on the work of people that already left years ago?
 
Kopite

Kopite

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,113
jungius said:
this is uhh seems bit crazy but is there chance they will close blizzard to keep the cod activision and wow dev part to cut the fat?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Very unlikely since everything Blizzard makes fits the Big IPs that make money. Layoffs sure, but you'll still see Diablo, Overwatch and WoW. More risky projects like new IP and RTS' are probably done for though.
 
DiegoPaulino

DiegoPaulino

Member
Aug 24, 2023
2,978
ShadowGldtr said:
I definitely get the anger at it, but Arkane Austin is not the same studio that did the dishonored games based on the 70% turnover and didn't do a good job of showing their potential with how Redfall turned out after a delay and with the relatively small changes made a year after launch. FO76 had major changes within a year and an expansion 1.5 years after that completely changed the game. Based on the reporting, it seems like there was minimal changes to Redfall based on the timeframe.

It absolutely sucks that people lost their jobs, but corporations can't and shouldn't just light money on fire when things aren't working in the hopes they magically change. This same sentiment goes to how The Initiative is performing at the moment and why I think Perfect Dark won't see the light of day.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If AA wasn't the same Studio that did previous bangers It is 100% Microsoft fault for not providing them the tools for It. Even Phil admitted It in last year's Interview. The hands off approach and Booty leadership was 100% Microsoft fault on that, they were OK with the team working on a game that Zenimax demanded them to do and did nothing to help the studio to change It to something more familiar to what the Studio previous Works.
 
LastNac

LastNac

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,393
I've seen more anger directed at Xbox during this situation, and rightfully so, then I have ever seen before.

Not to concern troll, but I am legitimately worried about Hellblade 2 and Ninja Theorry. When I was homeless in 2019, Dom Matthews gave me a beer and an hour of his time at Yard House in LA during E3 2019. I really am personally connected with what happens there.
 
Last edited:
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
56,153
Imagine being the social media leader giving an update on online sentiment this week
 
RoKKeR

RoKKeR

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,489
I've caught up on today's thread and it is somehow feeling worse than yesterday. The reports about how this is being sold internally are absolutely baffling and paints a damning picture about what this organization is doing. (or not doing)

As I think Imran said, Tango being caught up in this is the tipping point and I say that with all due respect to Arkane Austin. But shuttering Tango a year after HFR is probably going to go down as one of the worst moves Xbox has ever made, and they're torching their reputation as a partner to so many devs and as an organization that means what they say when they talk about valuing devs, players, and diverse experiences.

It's difficult to see where they go from here outside of just becoming a faceless mega-publisher that squeezes the juice from all available lemons until the next one pops up. The sense of "community" they've tried to foster as a platform holder is getting obliterated right now and will only continue as they scale back their creative efforts.

What a damn shame.
 
MCD

MCD

Honest Work
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,002
I'm convinced it's personal with Tango.

Ain't no way Matt Booty said that 💀
 
Haregan

Haregan

Member
Aug 21, 2022
2,295
Serbia
vixolus said:
I still don't see how CoD on game pass will obliterate sales. At most it would be impacted by PC Game Pass but how many people on PC play regular COD vs Warzone. They have yet to raise PCGP pricing but also want to grow that the most, so...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You explained many times why CoD on Game Pass makes sense and I completely agree.

I don't think it will damage Steam sales by much and it should boost Game Pass subscriptions by a lot. Steam is the main PC platform, people just don't want to play games off Steam and people HATE other launchers/platforms. There many good examples of games doing amazing on both Steam and Game Pass.

I think console is where it will be very interesting. They should be able to see how many current Ultimate subscribers bought Modern Warfare 3 for example. Call of Duty would move some Game Pass Console subscribers up to Game Pass Ultimate, which actually ends up being $4 more for Microsoft, and they would most likely try multiplayer now and potentially spend on MTX, which I think is Microsoft's biggest hope when it comes to dropping CoD on Game Pass.

Most interesting would be people subscribing to GP Core and upgrading to GP Ultimate. Those people would spend more than $70 now, but how many games are those people buying per year? Would they start spending less on games when they subscribe to Ultimate? Will those people buy CoD battle pass and spend on MTX? Maybe that upgrade encourages them to try more games, which is also really good.

We have to take in mind that people can subscribe to Ultimate for one month, play bunch of games then go back to Core or Console tier. That's something Microsoft hopes doesn't happen.

Also, let's be real, good number of subscribers get the subscription for much cheaper. I also think most of those people wouldn't even subscribe if not for those methods. We mostly just take in mind people who pay global price like $70 for CoD and $16.99 for GP Ultimate, but prices are very different in many countries, though Activision's regional pricing sucks ass.

There is risk for sure. Microsoft keeps fucking up and Xbox sales are not good, who knows how many people would even buy the next console, if there is one or whatever it is. Because of that, Call of Duty on Game Pass is something they have to do imo, if they give up on Game Pass now people would have zero reason to buy an Xbox. People would still need to buy CoD on PlayStation and a lot of people will keep buying it on PC. I think it's worth it.

They also weren't careful when promising everything on Game Pass. Imagine backing out now, that would be yet another big fuck up and would sink the ship even more, and I say 'even more' because it's already below surface water.
 
RubberStamp

RubberStamp

Member
Oct 27, 2017
492
The only thing I don't understand is that why did Xbox need to close studios to refocus their resources? Why couldn't they convert these studios into support studios for whatever project currently needs help. I understand that might not be ideal but at least they wouldn't have lost the talent and the people would still have jobs.

It's also sad to see that all this news is distracting everyone from the first major Xbox release of the year. I really hope Hellblade at least gets great critical reception.
 
Reader mode
You must log in or register to reply here.