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Xbox brought indie games to the mainstream, 'garage creations' such as Braid and Limbo. Without Xbox in the 360 generation, indie games may not have been what they are today.
Don Mattrick wanted XBO to be an all-in-one machine. However, execs were contradicting one another, no one knew how always-online worked, bundled with Kinect, gamers revolted. MS eventually changed this and got rid of Mattrick, but it was a bit too late to recover, and Kinect was still bundled for another year and XBO was more expensive than PS4.
At this point, used games were "boogeyman" to industry and companies wanted to go more digital because of it.
Spencer takes over in 2014, he was a MS-lifer at this point. Seen as someone with a long-term vision, and one of his first big bets was GamePass, "Netflix for gaming." As costs increase, volatility increases, so why not get people on a subscription with stable revenue stream?
Around same time, PC versions of MS games means no more exclusivity.
Many devs paid plenty of money to put games on Game Pass, which helps many devs for a period of time, but it's not enough. Developer shopping spree begins.
Buys Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion, Playground, etc. in 2018, then Zenimax (Bethesda) in 2020. Now more games on Game Pass.
Part of the benefits is devs keep autonomy. 'Make great games, take risks, it's OK if it's not a huge hit since it's still good for strategy to get more games on Game Pass.'
Xbox Series released, goal is to get back into hardware race. Xbox hardware had cratered by this point (MS stopped sharing sales numbers).
Not much at launch as Halo Infinite was delayed and had a much bigger budget than people would have guessed.
2021, hardware sales are still lower than needed.
Spencer goes to buy Activision-Blizzard-King, which is in the middle of troubles such as exposes of misconduct, for around 28 Minecrafts (nice comparison)
Gives MS Call of Duty for GamePass.
World of Warcraft/Diablo/Overwatch from Blizzard
King gives them Candy Crush, giving them mobile presence.
Messy 18-month battle.
Roblox started exploding, AI began taking over, ChatGPT launched around Activision deal
Now, Game Pass isn't growing and MS is getting into AI. $69 billion was used to purchase Activision, but the actual number if bigger because closing costs/regulatory costs, tens of thousands of new employees to pay, now organization is significantly more expensive and is continuously more expensive due to new costs from publisher purchase(s).
Xbox then has four mass layoffs in two years, cancellations of Blackbird/Everwild/Perfect Dark.
Xbox now is porting to other consoles.
Xbox devs now are hearing different things from different higher-ups as to what their goals are. MS is a big organization with many different tentacles and goals.
People start openly questioning Game Pass and if it's cannabalizing sales.
Schreier says a MS higher-up told him there's so much uncertainty but at least he trusts Spencer. One week later, Spencer is replaced.
Sharma wants to "reset." Full picture will be clear of reset within the next few weeks.
Changing mandates are difficult. Games start production 4-5 years before release, and mandates changing mid-production are difficult for devs.
Plenty of cost/production problems within devs, but according to Schreier, many devs are being punished for following orders they were given years ago that games didn't need to be super profitable.
It's going to be bad. Compulsion/Ninja Theory/Double Fine are just the beginning. Many negotiations going on right now. Also hard to make great games/art when fear of layoffs loom over you.
Don Mattrick wanted XBO to be an all-in-one machine. However, execs were contradicting one another, no one knew how always-online worked, bundled with Kinect, gamers revolted. MS eventually changed this and got rid of Mattrick, but it was a bit too late to recover, and Kinect was still bundled for another year and XBO was more expensive than PS4.
At this point, used games were "boogeyman" to industry and companies wanted to go more digital because of it.
Spencer takes over in 2014, he was a MS-lifer at this point. Seen as someone with a long-term vision, and one of his first big bets was GamePass, "Netflix for gaming." As costs increase, volatility increases, so why not get people on a subscription with stable revenue stream?
Around same time, PC versions of MS games means no more exclusivity.
Many devs paid plenty of money to put games on Game Pass, which helps many devs for a period of time, but it's not enough. Developer shopping spree begins.
Buys Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion, Playground, etc. in 2018, then Zenimax (Bethesda) in 2020. Now more games on Game Pass.
Part of the benefits is devs keep autonomy. 'Make great games, take risks, it's OK if it's not a huge hit since it's still good for strategy to get more games on Game Pass.'
Xbox Series released, goal is to get back into hardware race. Xbox hardware had cratered by this point (MS stopped sharing sales numbers).
Not much at launch as Halo Infinite was delayed and had a much bigger budget than people would have guessed.
2021, hardware sales are still lower than needed.
Spencer goes to buy Activision-Blizzard-King, which is in the middle of troubles such as exposes of misconduct, for around 28 Minecrafts (nice comparison)
Gives MS Call of Duty for GamePass.
World of Warcraft/Diablo/Overwatch from Blizzard
King gives them Candy Crush, giving them mobile presence.
Messy 18-month battle.
Roblox started exploding, AI began taking over, ChatGPT launched around Activision deal
Now, Game Pass isn't growing and MS is getting into AI. $69 billion was used to purchase Activision, but the actual number if bigger because closing costs/regulatory costs, tens of thousands of new employees to pay, now organization is significantly more expensive and is continuously more expensive due to new costs from publisher purchase(s).
Xbox then has four mass layoffs in two years, cancellations of Blackbird/Everwild/Perfect Dark.
Xbox now is porting to other consoles.
Xbox devs now are hearing different things from different higher-ups as to what their goals are. MS is a big organization with many different tentacles and goals.
People start openly questioning Game Pass and if it's cannabalizing sales.
Schreier says a MS higher-up told him there's so much uncertainty but at least he trusts Spencer. One week later, Spencer is replaced.
Sharma wants to "reset." Full picture will be clear of reset within the next few weeks.
Changing mandates are difficult. Games start production 4-5 years before release, and mandates changing mid-production are difficult for devs.
Plenty of cost/production problems within devs, but according to Schreier, many devs are being punished for following orders they were given years ago that games didn't need to be super profitable.
It's going to be bad. Compulsion/Ninja Theory/Double Fine are just the beginning. Many negotiations going on right now. Also hard to make great games/art when fear of layoffs loom over you.
