370°

Insomniac Games Cannot Develop Sunset Overdrive 2 Because Of Microsoft

Microsoft owns exclusivity rights for the next two sequels of the IP.

porkChop127d ago

That's a weird situation. Insomniac/Sony own the IP, but MS own the publishing rights to the next 2 sequels, any DLC, and any remasters. I don't see Sony allowing Insomniac to develop 2 Xbox exclusives, even if MS were to fund them. The franchise is as good as dead.

Cacabunga127d ago

This claim that MS makes no sense and contradicts with idea whyIG wanted to stay independent..
in all honesty this game is not great at all, it’s average and very repetitive. Was done and released at the same period as Fuse which was also a bad game.. IG is nothing without PlayStation

Zeref126d ago Show
crazyCoconuts126d ago

81 Metacritic - not bad not great
Not my style of game personally, I didn't like it enough to finish it back then. I'm 100% fine without a sequel on this one

itsmebryan126d ago

@Caca

Sunset overdrive was really fun and t son ani I enjoyed the story. We recently started playing it again on XSX. Have you played it?
Also now Sony is forcing insomniac to layoff people and only make Marvel games for the next 10+ years it's no way a sequel will ever get made. I bet Insomniac is regretting going to Sony now. What a waste.

Rocketisleague126d ago

Insomniac is nothing without rocksteady you mean. Now they're stuck making the same game over and over with a new skin as it brings in money. And realistically spiderman was just a reskin of arkham series already.

SyntheticForm126d ago

Sunset Overdrive had a great sense of humor and was quite fun to play.

Insomniac losing SSO isn't the tragedy, it's losing their autonomy.

Christopher126d ago

Independence is but an illusion when you get in bed with any major publisher.

Christopher126d ago

***Also now Sony is forcing insomniac to layoff people and only make Marvel games for the next 10+ years it's no way a sequel will ever get made. I bet Insomniac is regretting going to Sony now. What a waste. ***

I love this jump to conclusion people are making from seeing "lower budget" for main games.

They're reducing budget on one game, but also now working on 3 games at once. That obviously translates to laying off people because you need less people to work on more games at once.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 126d ago
DarXyde127d ago

It doesn't rule out spiritual successors.

zaanan126d ago

Jet Set Overdrive, let’s GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! ;)

126d ago
CobraKai126d ago

@Hilda
Why not both? Im loving Insomniac’s Marvel games but i ACTUALLY DO want original games from them as well. I don’t want such talented developers to be caged like Wolverine, only to make games like Wolverine. They need to be let loose.

126d ago
DarXyde126d ago

Hileda,

Insomniac has two studios. If it is true that Sony wants them to do smaller budget projects, that is the perfect opportunity to make original IPs, don't you think?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 126d ago
RaidenBlack126d ago

Are there any xbox studio(s) that are capable of developing the sequel(s)?
Maybe Obsidian's writing team collaborating with Coalition's gameplay team .... but that's highly unlikely.

Zeref126d ago

Tango Gameworks is who you're looking for. HiFi Rush has a similar but less Mature vibe to Sunset Overdrive.

There's also some on the Activision side that could fit like Beenox who did some of the earlier spiderman games or Toys For Bob who are doing Spyro and Crash.

Chevalier126d ago

Why not Tango? HiFi Rush seems to be very much designed in the vein of Sunset Overdrive. They could write and develop them

Profchaos126d ago

vicarious visions would be my first choice given how well they handled both crash and thps 1+2

badz149126d ago (Edited 126d ago )

@RaidenBlack

MS only own the publishing rights, the IP is owned by Insomniac, thus Sony. MS can't have anybody else making it, because it's not their IP and Insomniac can't proceed with the sequels because MS has to fund the games as part of the publishing agreement but why would MS fund a Sony's 1st party studio to make a game? The IP is now in a deadlock situation, thus...unless a miracle like Sony suddenly feeling generous to let Insomniac takes MS's money to make 2 sequels that MS would not want to appear on PS5 because they are not a 3rd party publisher (yet), not going to happen!

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 126d ago
Zeref126d ago

Good move to secure the sequels by Xbox.
Probably for this exact situation, where potentially Xbox fans would get left out of a sequel of a game they adored.

Ideally Sony and Microsoft would put gamers first and work together to bring the sequel to both platforms. But we all know that's never gonna happen.

DarXyde125d ago

"adored"?

There are many games on every platforms I wish were adored.

Sunset Overdrive was not adored. Great game, but hardly anyone gave it a chance. In this case, Microsoft went out of their way to advertise this game at major events and it was still ignored.

Game might be well liked by those of us who've played it, but in reality, it is like Gravity Rush. Great game, grossly overlooked, and no amount of sequels is likely to fix that.

My guess: it just didn't resonate with the Xbox audience at large. Whether people want to admit it or not, some games do better on some platforms. Microsoft knows this. Why else would Atlus JRPGs launch on XGP? They're trying to make it a thing and increase uptake on the platform. There aren't enough SSO type games on Xbox for people to care much about it.

As for a sequel where both parties come together... Well, Goldeneye was a whole thing, but it happened. I wouldn't say it can never happen.

Rynxie126d ago

Okay, then make sunset overdrive 4. There you go.

EvertonFC126d ago

Couldn't they get around it by doing a prequal

porkChop126d ago

Sunset Overdrive starts at the beginning of the outbreak. A prequel would literally not be Sunset Overdrive. It also wouldn't work that way. MS owns the rights to the next 2 games in the franchise, a prequel would be included in that.

TheCaptainKuchiki126d ago

What would even be the point? It's not like SO was a system seller anyway

BeHunted126d ago

Maybe not, but more games increases Xbox Game Pass catalogue.

Lightning77126d ago

Unfortunately you are right. Ms will Never employ a Sony employee to make the game. No way that's happening they have 2 very different buissness plans plus slitting shares and profits it'll be get messy.

Rip Sunset Overdrive 2014-2023

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 125d ago
-Foxtrot127d ago

Hold on a minute, I thought the whole point Insomniac went to other people over Sony during that time was because they wanted to be independent enough to own the IP of the game they made.

Now MS owns publishing rights to the next two sequels?

Dosent that defeat the point of why they did it? Well, what they told us anyway at the time.

Vits127d ago

It was a bet. Insomniac owns the IP, but in exchange for the +40M in funding, they gave up the publishing rights for this game and two sequels. If it was successful, then after those two sequels, they would be free to do whatever they wanted. If it was not successful, they could follow a Bungie-like approach and simply negotiate to regain those rights back from Microsoft.

But they were acquired by Sony, and now, unless the latter makes a proposal that Microsoft can't refuse, it's very unlikely that they will sell those rights. The franchise is as good as dead.

Eonjay126d ago

Either Sony buys them out of the contract or we only ever see Sunset Overdrive remaster.

crazyCoconuts126d ago

Reviews and sales were just ok. I doubt anyone is going out of their way to resuscitate this

Outside_ofthe_Box126d ago

So they never had true control of the IP due to giving MS publishing rights. I remember them saying to ask MS if gamers wanted a sequel. Definitely defeated the whole point of denying Sony and being exclusive to Xbox.

-Foxtrot125d ago (Edited 125d ago )

Yeah that’s what I was trying to say, it’s silly.

Why not just make a multiplatform game or say to MS they could be exclusive for 5 years or something

Hell even say “if it’s a huge success keep the IP and we’ll continue making sequels for you, if it fails then it reverts to us after so long”

__SteakDeck__127d ago

Can’t Mr. “When we all play, we all win” Nice Guy Phil Spencer sell the publishing rights to Insomniac? Lol Glad people can finally stop asking about a sequel to this game. Insomniac can just make a better new IP, that borrows some mechanics from Overdrive. But we’ll probably have to wait until at least 2031 for that. Lol

Rockstar126d ago

That's true!
Good guy Phil is "for the players" and "a gamer" so this is going to happen!

GamerRN126d ago

Well, isn't Sony ALSO a good company just trying to be about the games? Can't they allow Microsoft to make a sequel? Don't they want to make sure that no company is stopping the other from making games?

Outside_ofthe_Box126d ago

Have you been living under rock? According to the most neutralist of gamers, Sony and Microsoft have reversed roles this gen. Sony is anti consumer and Microsoft are the good guys. Good Guy Phil better make it happen!

badz149126d ago

You're wrong on that. The ball is actually in MS's court. They have the publishing rights but not the IP, so if they actually gives a damn about the IP, they should buy the IP from Sony and let their own studios make a sequel.

Any crumbs of interest from Sony regarding the IP has vanished when they knew about the publishing agreement and the IP was never associated with the PS brand to begin with. Can't blame them letting the IP they can't monetize on rotting on the shelve. So it goes straight to MS now when it comes to salvaging the IP.

This is just 1 IP Phil, and shouldn't be THAT expensive considering how it went down. The fact that they are not even trying to get the IP showed they too don't care. Let's just say RIP to SSOD. It's as good as dead now.

Einhander1972126d ago

Who cares, Insomniac has their games laid out well into the next generation.

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110°

Outriders Dev's Next Game Has Been Canceled After Publishing Agreement With Take-Two Fell Through

Outriders developer People Can Fly's next game has been canceled after its publishing agreement with Take-Two Interactive fell through.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
Tacoboto1d 18h ago

"the capital group of PCF Group S.A."

If you're getting funding from a group that needs two different ways of Acronyming itself, things will not go the way you want them to.

banger881d 12h ago

If it was more online-only crap then good riddance.

jjb198122h ago

Outriders was crap. They slapped that game together and threw in a loot system to get players' attention. This game was absolutely jank and the always online nonsense made it stutter like crazy. People Can't Optimize.

thorstein21h ago

I liked Outriders but I could see where the artistic vision was compromised. The way the industry is now, it wouldn't surprise me that upper management would scrap something that didn't pull in money via gaas, mts, or other means.

290°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
darthv721d 15h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle1d 2h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18811d ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio23h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Lightning7719h ago

What he said was facts. How he plays games is no concern of you. Don't get too mad about it.

Cacabunga1d 2h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

darthv7212h ago

to you it may seem like the minority... but your bubble is shrinking because more and more are following suit. convenience is a hell of a drug and its also why physical sales only amount to 30% of overall game sales. times are changing, you either get with them or you get left behind.

neutralgamer19927h ago

Darth

30% physical sales: yet Phil and xbox division are in a rush go give up on that 30%. they don't have any right to give up any piece of the pie since the control such a little of the pie to begin with

also, the market is clearly speaking that the model Xbox is pushing isn't working right now the keyword being right now. you are right about freedom to play anywhere so i hope they put their games on steam

shinoff21831d 1h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga1d ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan20h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

S2Killinit13h ago

MS is after diminishing consoles as a medium. They want to destroy this market because they couldnt win. MS’s vision is to dissolve console gaming.

romulus2319h ago

Odd that a company that touts you dont need the hardware to play is already touting another console in the works.

darthv7218h ago

They are not reliant on the HW but still want to maintain a presence (no matter how small) is a good thing. It shows commitment to the craft. It reminds me of SNK and how they made games for their own hardware (Neo Geo) while also making them for others because they knew there was a market to do so. They knew they would sell more to others but also sell to their own niche fan base.

TheEroica12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Perfectly reasonable post down voted by insecure corporation friendly folk.... But not gamers. Real gamer want accessibility and ease of acquisition for all.... Company shills are the only ones still telling us that hardware locking people from games is good for us.

Chevalier7h ago

@Darth

You should stop parroting metrics like an idiot without context.

"Xbox content and services revenue grew 62% in Q3 from a year earlier, “driven by 61 points of net impact” from the purchase of the third-party video game giant, Microsoft said."

61 of the 62% was from their merger so net increase is ONLY 1%

https://www.mesaonline.org/...

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 7h ago
purple1011d 5h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos1d 4h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

DOMination-18h ago

In the last two years they've started exiting the consumer market altogether. All of the newest Surface products are business models only. They can't seem to work out what they want to do with it.

XBManiac1d 3h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad1d 3h ago (Edited 1d 3h ago )

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1011d 3h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos1d 2h ago (Edited 1d 2h ago )

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic1d 1h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

MrDead18h ago

The only growth MS will get out of the console industry is if it supports it's rivals platforms. Xbox is a pointless machine now. I can see them on a big push for live next, and they won't give up on trying to buy Steam.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 18h ago
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90°

An Update on This Year’s BlizzCon and Blizzard’s 2024 Live Events

Blizzard writes: "After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024. This decision was not made lightly as BlizzCon remains a very special event for all of us, and we know many of you look forward to it. While we’re approaching this year differently and as we have explored different event formats in the past, rest assured that we are just as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in future years."

Read Full Story >>
blizzcon.com
PRIMORDUS1d 13h ago

How about you not hold Blizzcon anymore period. You fucking POS company. I really hope Blizzard would just die.