Banjo-Kazooie
Member
Much like the Sony PlayStation first party thread, so I shamelessly copied some of the style of it.
*will be expanding on this*
Part 1: First Party Studios
Part 2: Partner Studios
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Other studios/teams:
Studios/Teams Closed this generation:
Studios/Teams acquired this generation:
Havok acquired in 2015
Simplygon acquired in 2017
First Party Games cancelled/shut down this generation:
*will be expanding on this*
Part 1: First Party Studios
Part 2: Partner Studios
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Studio:343 Industries
Game History: Halo
Studio Head(s): Frank O'Connor (franchise director), Bonnie Ross (general manager)
Employees: ~450
Location: Redmond, WA
Released Xbox One/Windows 10 Games:
- Halo Spartan Assault (XB1,Steam,mobile) (2013/ Metascore 53/70/86)
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection (XB1) (2014/ Metascore 85)
- Halo 5: Guardians (XB1) (2015/ Metascore 84)
- Halo Wars: Definitive Edition (XB1/Win 10/STEAM) - 4/20/17
Other releases:
Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo Hub, Halo 5: Forge
Xbox One/Windows 10 Projects:
- Halo Wars 2 collaboration with Creative Assembly (XB1/Win 10) - 2/21/17
---- Continued work on DLC. Expansion releasing this fall 2017
Rumours:
- Halo 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Studio: The Coalition
Game History: Gears of War
Studio Head: Rod Fergusson
Employees: ~200
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Released Xbox One/Windows 10 Games:
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (XB1,Win10) (2015/ Metascore 82/73)
- Gears of War 4 (XB1,Win 10) (2016/ Metascore 84/86)
Xbox One/Windows 10 Projects:
- Gears of War 4 season pass content (maps, horde, updates, ect)
Rumours:
- Gears of War 5
Studio: Rare Ltd.
Game History: Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Goldeneye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Conker, Viva Piñata, and a ton more.
Studio Head: Craig Duncan
Director(s): Gregg Mayles
Employees: ~150 (?)
Location: Twycross, UK
Released Xbox One Games:
- Kinect Sports Rivals (2014/ Metascore 60)
- Rare Replay (2015/ Metascore 84)
Xbox One/Windows 10 Projects:
- Sea of Thieves -- Release 2018, currently in Closed Alpha
Rumours:
Rare working on two "extra IPs" other than Sea of Thieves
Rare has turned into a "New IP factory"
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Studio: Mojang
Game History: Minecraft, Cobalt, Scrolls
Studio Head(s): Jens Bergensten (lead creative designer), Lydia Winters (brand director)
Employees: 63
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Released Xbox One Games:
- Minecraft (2014/ Metascore 88)
- Cobalt w/ Oxeye Studios (2016/ Metascore 66)
Other releases:
Scrolls, Crown and Council
Xbox One/Windows 10 Projects:
- Continued Minecraft updates across various platforms
- Partnership with Telltale on Minecraft Story Mode
- Minecraft Better Together update releasing fall 2017. Crossplay and more for various systems
Rumours:
- Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition coming to Xbox One?
Studio: Turn 10 Studios
Game History: Forza
Studio Head(s): Alan Hartman (studio lead), Dan Greenawalt (Creative Director)
Employees: ?
Location: Redmond, WA
Released Xbox One/ Windows 10 Games:
- Forza Motorsport 5 (XB1) (2013/ Metascore 79)
- Forza Motorsport 6 (XB1) (2015/ Metascore 87)
- Forza Motorsport 6: Apex (Win10) (2016/ Metascore N/A)
Other releases:
Forza Horizon 2, Forza Horizon 3, Forza Hub
Xbox One/Windows 10 Projects:
- Continued Content updates to Forza Horizon 3
- Forza Motorsport 7
Rumours:
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Studio: Microsoft Casual Games
Game History: Solitaire, Mahjong, Wordament, Minesweeper, Bingo, Sudoku
Studio Head(s)aul Jensen (studio lead)
Employees: ?
Location: Redmond, WA
Released Xbox One/ Windows 10 Games:
- Microsoft Solitaire Collection (Win10) (2015/ Metascore N/A)
- Microsoft Bingo (Win10) (2015/ Metascore N/A)
- Microsoft Mahjong (Win10) (2016/ Metascore N/A)
Xbox One/Windows 10 Projects:
- Microsoft Ultimate Word Games (Win10)
Rumours:
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Other studios/teams:
ID@ Xbox - Indie Game publishing support
Microsoft Studios Global Publishing - Handle Microsoft Studio publishing between first party and partner studios
Beam - Streaming service
Backwards Compatibility Team - Handle Xbox One BC
Microsoft Foundry - Intern program, made free game Voice Commander in 2013
Mixed Reality Team - working on AR/VR content for Xbox
Studios/Teams Closed this generation:
Twisted Pixel (The Maw, Splosion Man)- Parted ways in 2015, TP now independent
Press Play (Max, Kalimba) - Closed in 2016
Lionhead Studios (Fable) - Closed in 2016
Team Dakota (Project Spark) - Disbanded in 2016
Xbox Fitness Team - Disbanded in 2016
Decisive Games - Disbanded before being made public in 2016
Studios/Teams acquired this generation:
Not part of MS studios, but other acquisitions:Gears of War IP - acquired from EPIC in 2014
Mojang - Acquired in 2014
Rise of Nations IP - Acquired in 2014 from defunct Big Huge Games
Beam - Streaming Service acquired in August 2016
Havok acquired in 2015
Simplygon acquired in 2017
First Party Games cancelled/shut down this generation:
Black Tusk's new IP - Cancelled so team could work on Gears of War 4
Project Spark - Servers Closed in 2015
Fable Legends - Cancelled when Lionhead was closed in 2016
Project Knoxville - Cancelled when Press Play was closed in 2016
Xbox Fitness - Servers Closed June 2017