“In terms of the overall lineup, we want to get to a point of releasing a new game every quarter,” Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, said in a recent video briefing shown to press. “We know that a thriving entertainment service needs a consistent and exciting flow of new content. So our portfolio will continue to grow as our service grows.” Xbox Game Pass, which has 18 million subscribers, contains a library of over 100 games. Microsoft had already committed to releasing all its first-party games day-and-date on Game Pass (a policy that’s in stark contrast to Sony’s for rival subscription service PlayStation Now), and it has recently snapped up a number of day-and-date launches from third-party publishers, such as Outriders and MLB The Show 21. But to reach that one new first-party game launch each quarter target, Microsoft needs developers. To that end, its studio lineup has grown from five to 23 teams over the last several years, including the $7.5bn purchase of Bethesda. “Role playing games, shooters, strategy titles, adventure games, and more are all being built by our first-party teams to ensure that there is a steady stream of compelling exclusive content to explore,” Microsoft said. Xbox Game Studios currently includes:
343 Industries (Halo) World’s Edge (Age of Empires) The Coalition (Gears of War) Compulsion Games (We Happy Few) Double Fine (Psychonauts) The Initiative (Perfect Dark) inXile Entertainment (Wasteland 3) Mojang Studios (Minecraft) Ninja Theory (Hellblade) Obsidian Entertainment (The Outer Worlds, Grounded, Avowed) Playground Games (Forza Horizon, Fable) Rare (Sea of Thieves, Everwild) Turn 10 (Forza Motorsport) Undead Labs (State of Decay) Xbox Game Studios Publishing (external development support)
Bethesda Softworks currently includes:
Bethesda Game Studios (Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Starfield) iD (Doom, Quake, Rage) ZeniMax Online (The Elder Scrolls Online) Arkane Studios (Prey, Dishonored, Deathloop) MachineGames (Wolfenstein, Untitled Indiana Jones game) Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo) Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom) Roundhouse Studios (formerly Human Head Studios)
