this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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I believe that's a good and a bad thing. I mean, Microsoft can't run this as bad as current Activition's boss are doing it. We may see a gain in the respect Activision gives to it's players. I think Microsoft is better than Sony to manage exclusivity and there is less hypocrisy.
On the other side ... that's a fucking big chunk of the gaming industry that goes to one player. If Microsoft wants to shit on every playstation players from now on, they will be able to do it and that's not good.
I don't think that'll help Microsoft sell more console than Sony anytime soon. Most players already chose their system and the ecosystem of back catalog and all makes switching from one to another a losing situation.
Microsoft, the company that hasn’t put out a decent game in years and who’s only saving grace this generation has been buying out studios and making their games exclusive, can’t run things as badly as Activision? That microsoft?
Playing devil's advocate, even though MSFT failed to ship good quality games consistently* (ignoring Flight Simulator 2020, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires 4), they haven't become a toxic place to work at with acquisations of sexual assualt, rampant crunch culture or rejecting unionisation. The idea that happy employees create good games hasn't yet been proven given how Xbox has been very loosey goosey with quality control, but we can say that they do let studios be themselves (for e.g. Pentiment and Grounded probably wouldn't have seen light if Obsidian was acquired by metacritic chasing publisher). Naughty Dog produces finest games, but there are multiple reports of crunch and overwork. Bend Studio really wanted a Days Gone 2 but it didn't work out. Of course there will be all sorts of examples, good and bad, but so far MSFT has at least good work culture and low pressure enviornment going for them.
Speaking of pressure, despite poor performance of Redfall, Xbox hasn't closed Arkane Austin, and only after so many misses did MSFT reorg 343i.
So yeah, poor sales performance but happy and safe employees is a better place to be in than great sales performance but overworked, underpaid and terrified employees. If Xbox can figure out a way to improve quality of shipped products, that would be best of both worlds.
*Psychonauts 2, Deathloop, Doom Eternal, HiFi Rush don't count, even though they were great games, as they were in active development before the purchase. Likewise, Redfall should also not be fully Xbox's responsibility given it was conceptualized and built by a Bethesda hungry for MTX and live service. Let's hope it was the last time they okay such a game.
Some truth here. Game dev is almost alway a shitty work environment. Creative work has been hard to find unless going into indie.