In some ways it feels like Microsoft is announcing as many studio acquisitions as they are games nowadays. This year saw the announcement that Double Fine would be joining the umbrella, which joins host of others from last year, such as Ninja Theory and Obsidian Entertainment. They are filling up with new studios fast, but how does that come about, and is there a stopping point? Well, the head of Xbox Game Studios division has offered some clarification.
Head of Xbox Game Studios Matthew Booty spoke with GamesBeat, and he talked about the mass amount of buyouts. He said there was no real defined schedule, nor any real quota being filled. It’ll all depend on what Microsoft is looking for, and what kind of time frame the developer/publisher in question is working under.
“I’d say the pace of acquisition has more to do with the kinds of studios that we’re looking for and the fit, as opposed to, ‘Hey, we’re trying to get so many deals done per quarter,'” said Booty. “That’s not how we’re going about it. It may be that we find some studios that fit the mold of what we’re looking for. Again, I feel supported such that if there were to be two of those that we were to find, and they were willing in the next couple months, we’d have the support to do that. But I don’t feel under pressure to go and fill a quota with those.”
There’s already rumors floating out there of studios Microsoft looks to acquire in the near future, so it’ll be interesting to see how that all shakes out. One thing is for sure, Microsoft sure has some quality studios under their belt now.