Microsoft is Just Pulling an R. Kelly in Gamers’ Faces.
It’s been 6 years since the e3 where Microsoft announced they were buying new game studios for exclusives. It’s been 3 since they shocked the gaming world by purchasing Bethesda. Oh, and then they bought Activision Blizzard for shits and giggles. For the most part, Sony has been crushing in the exclusives department, so like the fat kid at the back of the bus who’s had enough, Microsoft decided to get their head in the game. You would think this would cause fierce competition, but really, what we would get was the exact opposite.
Hey remember that studio that brought you elders scrolls and fallout? We got Starfield… Oh; you liked DMC and Hellblade? Here you go, Bleeding edge. Dishonoured games were pretty classy, right? Have some Redfall, live service games, everyone loves them. It seems every studio they touched they took what made them special and forced them to make a game they either had no clue how to make, or had no desire to. All in the name of chasing trends and trying to capture lightning in a bottle where other games succeeded.
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During their trial, they discovered an email that highlighted Microsoft’s thought process, stating that they could “spend Sony out of business.” For all this money being thrown around, what have we got? Garbage to mediocre games, Four Bethesda studio closures, and basically more games they can throw up on Gamepass, which has been their only saving grace at this point.
Sure, there has been some good, Halo Infinite was good, rough patches aside. We got Gears 5, but isn’t it time we stop making the grandparents raise the current generation? And as tiring as it is to hear, Gamepass really is a great deal for the amount of stuff to get for a subscription fee. But what does it matter when now I’m worried about games like Avowed from Obsidian. How has Microsoft gotten their grubby hands into that one? And what about State of Decay 3? Yeah, good luck there.
What is Microsoft’sendgame? They clearly don’t care about exclusivity, nor do they care about competing with Sony. Now I’m not one of those team Sony versus team Xbox types. I do strongly believe in healthy competition. But you can’t help but compare the two. What Sony does is working in spades. They just let studios do what they do best. They don’t chase after fads. Whereas Microsoft takes these developers and says, hey add some loot to the game, make it multiplayer, oh we sure could use our own version of Destiny 2. Can’t wait to see how they chase after helldivers 2.
