Thank you for listening to The Inner Circle Special, today we talk with Director of programming for the Xbox Division, Mike Ybarra. We discuss topics such as what to expect from the new UI on Xbox One. What new features can we expect, what are the possibilities of Xbox, windows 10 & DX12 and looking ahead at the future of Windows 10 uniting all MS devices.
Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra recently suggested an interesting concept that has sparked a debate among gamers - the idea of being able to tip developers after completing a game.
If I had a 100% way to be sure that this money would go to a fund or a reserve dedicated only to the guys who develop the games, be them designers, artists, programmers and so on, I could think about it.
But we all know that this 'tip' would only end up in a publisher's CEO pocket to buy a new yacht, so, no, I ain't tipping anyone anytime soon on this industry
Exactly these companies were raising money for good causes and gamers were donation and come to find out they are keeping a good chunk of be pie
Yeah tip your developer, 5% proceeds go to developer, 95% to the publisher or whoever. Isn't tipping for staff not making minimum wage? How about they just pay their developers properly and like you know, give them fair bonuses? Too much to ask from Blizzard these days, Kotick saw to that and is now laughing all the way to the bank.
It's the t**ts at the top looking at ways to cut devs wages and get the players to tip them like waiting staff, and I'll guarantee a percentage is skimmed and kept by Activision Blizzard. This is 100% for shareholder and CEO playouts.
I have to agree with this. On the surface tipping devs sounds like a great idea, but in the end it leads to pay cuts and subsidization of pay. Tips then become an expectation or the devs “can’t make a living.” Lastly, especially in the US, tip culture has gotten out of control, and it serves as an excuse not to properly pay employees. Sounds good but doesn’t end well.
@ Popsicle
I think your right on the nose with how much tipping has become rampant. Instead of it being a relationship directly between the customer and the developer or employee, it now has a middle man ingrained in the system. DoorDash is one example. It ends up becoming a metric where the company can measure 'just how much more money you are willing to part with' before raising the price on the main product.
Uh so they’re trying triple dip or more we buy the game that they’re already withholding/cutting content for dlc we was told that season pass would help the developers thrive we felt for it.
Now on top of all that plus their sales bonus they want tips enough is enough whatever happens to you create/built a good game get a bonus for sales milestones you care about your game and community we reward you with more sales not for doing 3/4 of a game then save the other 1/4 for dlc and passes after
Very well said. If it was possible to send the money to either the developer or some organization for the betterment of gaming, sure. But we all know that will not be the case.
No, it would go to those on the top. They will still fire developers, have a bunch of microtransactions, raise prices of games and so on.
So they eventually don't pay their workers and depend on our tips to pay them like the case with waiters!
That kind of practice is only normal in the states, as far as I know anyway, what a backwards system
Ireland is literally the first stop across the pond and we don't have a tipping culture. The only establishments here that would expect a tip are the tourist haunts that Americans visit. Other than that, you might tip in a restaurant as a sign of gratitude for great service and waiting staff would be paid a full wage anyway.
Is this a joke? How about the big wigs giving up some of their pay for their hard working developers.
Caring about making money ain't the problem. It's the greed which turns into predatory interests in making money at the loss of humanity and customer trust.
Caring about making money helps you keep everyone employed...but they only care about lining their own pockets not making many for everyone to benefit.
You nailed it as greed...that's the problem.
Them: "We've figured out a way to squeeze you of more money, come on let us stick it in."
Us: "No."
Them: "Please! just the tip."
Us: "That's how it always starts."
"Interesting concept"?! This is beyond idiotic.
First of all, developers have a salary and they earn a pretty decent wage.
Next, tipping culture is awful overall and should be abolished, i think. People don't see it as a token of gratitude for the job done well (as it should be), they see it as their own money that you must give them, no matter how they do the job. Look at some places, tips became mandatory and they are a fixed percent of your order, for some reason (especially in kids playrooms). You'll give them an inch and they'll take a mile and then another one on top. Look at macrotransactions, started on free to play games, was costing around $2-$5, now it's everywhere, even in $70 AAA games and cost more than a game, up to $100.
On top of that, you'll have to waste resources adding this system, integrate with payment providers and fix the bugs, who will do that? What, another company should make it and take a fee from every transaction? No, thanks, there're already enough parasites around.
Even if we ignore that this is dumb idea and should never be a thing ever:
Who can guarantee that the money will go to developers ONLY? That's right, no one.
How many developers are working on a AAA game? 100+? Who would you tip, some particular developer? How would you know who? All 100? The wouldn't even notice a few cents bonus.
Hey, as long as we're throwing (dumb) ideas around - how about the other way around, CEOs and top management will tip the players who play their game? I read everywhere about the record profits and firing development staff, yet CEOs and top management are keeping theirs, so how about sharing some of your wealth? Oh, what, you don't want that? Oh, i guess it should only work in your favor, huh?
It’s called Kickstarter, since 99% of games are broken upon release and are essentially still in development.
Tipping culture is getting out of hand. I just see this as moving in a direction where employers no longer want to be held accountable for their employee’s salaries or investments.
Why aren’t you showing your appreciation and providing me with a tip for purchasing your game? Did I do something wrong by only dropping $130+ on your Ultimate Edition that is plagued with matchmaking issues for the next 2-3 months and only includes a bonus game soundtrack that is totally forgettable?
Next thing you know, articles appear on the usual gaming news sites stating "Gamers are ungrateful to the developers!"
How about they get paid a proper wage.
American tipping culture is just madness I've seen it's starting to expand beyond just waiters and Batista's into things like real estate agents and self service kiosks like at Macdonalds along with other place's it should never even be considering I don't tip anyone in Australia ever and no one is mad about it.
I think the developers should tip us for essentially buying dome $70 games to basically play test. Doesn’t really sound so good does it? Y’all make more than most people and still want more.
This wouldn't work for games published by a big company, of course. But it could work for smaller indie game projects that have a very low cost, such as a $5 game made by 3 people, and you can choose to tip them an extra $3 - $5 as a sign of appreciation.
However, this would be a disgusting practice if it was allowed for games published by Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Namco, Capcom, S-E, Sega, etc.
This is how food delivery apps put more of the responsibility and cost on the customer. Blizzard finds the sleaziest managers.
First thet introduce tips, then they cut pay as much as possible, so they can profit more.
I could see this being a cool thing for Indies. But often you can do just that already if they have a patreon or something similar. For major developer companies that would be super silly, to start there is a huge chance that the devs that worked on that particular game has already been fired as the project is over. And obviously the money would not reach the developers that are still there, the suits would gobble it all up.
Also we all know that if this get implemented by a American. It would stop being a small bonus for good work and become a integral part of the salary of the devs in no time.
I'll be honest I don't think I'm 100% against this. Like it would be a very rare thing for me. It would only donate/tip Devs that have not only made a incredible game. But also don't make me feel like I'm getting nicked and dimed.
You should be able to tip an individual team, such as if you really liked the audio, the graphics, or the animations teams,
Perhaps the art team or special effects teams too, how about that idea?
I love it when these CEOs and the ilk speak about the video game industry. They say the wildest, headscratching rubbish that only seems reasonable to a soulless husk whose myopic pursuit of profit make it seem reasonable to him and him alone.
In a couple of years:
Horse DLC $80 dollars.. oh you buy it! Wanna tip another $20 for the demon son of Bobby Kottick?!
Go work in a restaurant if you want to work for tips. You get no insurance and paid $5/hr.
How about you make something worth buying? He can blame constant video game sales if anything. Most Games are half price in just months.
Everyone knows games go on sale constantly, devs need to make and market properly and maybe we get excited enough to drop $70. I remember seeing WAY more game commercials back in the day. They don’t spend money marketing anymore and just expect us to build hype on our own when day one gaming is risky. These devs have F’d up so many times and just fix via patches…this is bullshit and why we all just wait for your buggy rushed game to go on sale.
Wow that sounds like a wonderful idea
Then the multi billion dollar company wouldn't have to pay them as much
And if there's one company I trust with this stuff, it's blizzard
Always thinking about the little guy
Oh yeah so then blizzard can justify paying employees less. What a scummy dude
These games are produced for the most part at multiple million to trillion dollar companies. How about they be fiscally responsible with scope and budget so they can pay the developers better. It is not the consumers responsibility to bail out failing business plans.
The USA doesn't understand tippIng....knowing them they'd reduce wages across the board for all devs in order to guilt trip customers to tip.
No no no no no no no way in hell would I ever support ANOTHER tipping avenue. "Oh it's optional" you say? Say that to the "forced 20% gratuity on some checks". What next? Unskippable 1 minute donation begging before we can play so they can write it off in their taxes?
I'm not gonna tip you when I have to pay 30 dollars extra for 2 days of early access. You should have probably also tipped your coworker when she got paid less for the exact same role you were given and didn't say a word about it.
Oh what was that? I should torrent more games on PC? Don't mind if I do. LOL I have the Starcraft collection already what else shall I take hmmmm...
The moment they implement that option, they will reduce the developers' pay and expect tips to makeup the difference.
Tipping is a wonderful thing to do, but an executive is the last person who should suggest it for an industry. This is just shady.
Actually, if I buy a game on sale, I would be open if the funds went to the developer NOT the publisher. For example, buy a $70 game at $39.99. If the game is great and updated properly, I would tip $10.
Okay but if your game is trash, then it's only fair you pay me for having to go through that hardship of spending my money on a terrible game.
If games did not have microtransactions and released complete and games weren't broken on release and patched later then this might have a little bit of merit. Non multiplayer games connected to the internet have lead to intolerable experiences.
If you want the ability to give tips then totally stop selling MT’s and battle passes and I will consider it.
Mike Ybarra is a joke. This man goes from company to company like the town wh*re.
I didn’t like him at Microsoft, didn’t like him at Blizzard. And while I would tip developers who deserve it.
I’ll never tip developers who are more than happy to force diversity and inclusion just because.
If it makes sense for the story and game okay. But often times it’s just there to check DEI boxes.
Or perhaps the big greedy companies that hired said developers and what not pay out of their billion dollar pockets. Instead of pocketing it all or most of it and then complaining how expensive it is to make AAA video games nowadays. You greedy perverted F’s. Stop job cuts too so you maintain a disgusting life style while the real hardworking people struggle to get by while working tirelessly to make your F’ing games. There should be more capital from these companies that have a reserve for the devs and give them a fair bonus when the games launched.
The amount of money these CEO’s rank in compared to the peanuts the devs and various studio employees make could go towards a better funded gaming experience. The big dogs don’t work anywhere near as much or as hard as the poor devs who often end up on the short end of the stick. Get used and abused then let go while they have a house to pay off.
Former Xbox executive Mike Ybarra has applauded PlayStation first party games as “bangers” that are worth celebrating.
Must be hard if you're passion is gaming and the company you work for only wants to purchase and lock away what's already there. Seeing what Nintendo, PlayStation and independent studios can do with far less recourses just makes MS very unappealing.
How objective can he be? He's right. Most of those games Microsoft's has were 3rd party creations in production that Microsoft would have gotten anyway.
You trying to hide that fact is the actual bullshit we should worry about. Just because he said something nice about PlayStation doesn't change anything about what we already knew.
I don’t think you guys understood z2g.
On topic: yeah, it would have been so bland without PlayStation’s amazing hits.
@StormSnooper
“ I don’t think it should be hard to be objective. ”
Was a response to.
“ Must be hard if your passion is gaming and the company you work for only wants to purchase and lock away what's already there.”
Which was a response to
“ Former Xbox Executive Applauds PlayStation First Party Games As “Bangers””
(Among many comments by Ybarra)
Is that a correct understanding?
I couldn’t agree more with him, but i hope Sony reveal some games in the near future
Actually, they purchased studios, but promised not to lock away any existing franchises. Only future, new IP.
In case you weren't sure... This is the same thing Sony has done for years and it's what got them where they are ...
Microsoft is just catching up with big studios Sony can't afford.
I'll make it easy for you, show me anyone in the industry spending over $80 billion on two publishers and I'll except your point... if not then this "This is the same thing Sony has done for years and it's what got them where they are" is pure BS.
Ohhhh... My bad, so what upsets you is that they paid more than Sony can afford?
You DO realize most of Sony's 1st party studios started off as 3rd party studios, right? They purchased them a long time ago, and now you seem to forget that they grew in the same way Microsoft is today, just Microsoft has a much, much larger bank account....
It's not pure BS, it's a fact.
Naughty Dog was founded in 1984, acquired in 2001 by Sony. That's probably their main one, should I go on? It doesn't take much to Google and see for yourself. I think you need to brush up on your video game history young man...
$80 billion on two multiplatform publishers filled with studios, MS is responsible for the biggest consolidation in the history of the industry and that's all you have as a response!?!... child go home, it's past your bed time.
So again, what upsets you is they bought more than Sony can afford? Sony, over the years, has purchased almost all of their studios. Microsoft just did it quicker and all at once.
I guess you really don't know your video game history...
Yes, Microsoft has made the largest single purchase in video game history. And Sony immediately bought Bungie to keep up. The below might not be the same, but Sony bought studios before Microsoft even got their feet wet in the gaming industry...
Difference is Sony has helped build those studios and put them all under one umbrella that gets their support.
M$ clearly does not support their acquisitions or want them to grow like Sony does with theirs. Studios have been built up under Sony’s guidance, whereas M$ bought already established third party in the industry and is leaving them hanging, blowing in the breeze, as evidenced by Redfall—that Nintendo seal of quality or Sony oversight is clearly lacking when even their biggest game, Halo, wasn’t supported the way it should have been and just pushed out the door for money.
M$ doesn’t want to sell you high quality entertainment and enjoyment, the want you to buy into their ecosystem where you rent for perpetuity.
Do you see the difference now?
So you think Sony doesn't want you to buy into their ecosystem? You think they bought these studios and made first party exclusives diy any reason other than to get you to buy into their ecosystem? I hate to tell you, but it's the same thing. Sony has better PR right now due to fanboy mentality.
Also, Sony didn't communicate these studios, they grew. Come back in 10 years, since it took Sony 15 years for most of the studios to develop, and let's see where Microsoft is...
Honestly, the double standard is huge with fanboys.
"Also, Sony didn't communicate these studios, they grew. Come back in 10 years, since it took Sony 15 years for most of the studios to develop, and let's see where Microsoft is..."
Didn't you just mention double standards?! Why does Xbox get a pass for not developing the studios they own over the last 15 years then? Playstation studios and even Nintendo studios have developed light years ahead of Xbox studios and it didn't take them making $80 Billion in purchases.
Xbox studios have overall been pretty terrible in terms of quality over the same span.
Playstation and Nintendo developed or further developed new/old IP like Uncharted, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, TLOU, Xenoblade Chronicles, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Smash, Pokemon. Whereas Xbox in that same time has what Recore? Sea of Thieves? And AA IPs?
I'm not casting a double standard, I'm asking you to give Microsoft the same time that it took Sony to develop anything worthwhile...
Also let's not forget they've closed studios and dumped staff also...
As far as developing new IP, Guerilla Games was purchased in 2005 by Sony. Horizon Zero Dawn was release 2017.
My point? Why don't you give Microsoft 12 years with these studios before you judge them? They aren't going to just shit out banger after banger... Even Bethesda dropped a few average games, but they still produced some solid games as well with Microsoft.
You are being very one sided.
Since you don't know your video game history, here's a site that shows you all of their studios, and when they bought them. Please note the major ones, like Naughty Dog, Guerilla Games, all started off as 3rd party studios.
https://gameworldobserver.c...
I get that and actually agree with you. Still, buying COD and Bethesda and Id is a little different than Guerilla or ND 15 years ago.
Plus, you are still Missing my point that Sony supports theirs while M$ does not.
Also, I lived through all of gaming history, I’m old! Bought Xbox in the past and probably will again, so yeah, that’s part of the reason I’m not supporting them now. They seem to not care about the day one product.
So your problem is that they bought studios that already proved their value? Well, that's why they paid so much instead of gambling like Sony did for years. Sony took a lot of chances because the competition was slim. Microsoft doesn't have the luxury of time, because fanboys are criticizing everything they do. Because of that, they have to spend larger amounts of money on studios that already have a proven value and IP because they don't have 20 years to let it grow, they have to catch up now!
@ Abear21
A complete lack of understanding is used as their defence, one company grows industry while the other spends more than any other in the industry's history to consolidate a mammoth part of it.
It's like saying a brick is the same as a house.
Edit: actually just ignore him, looking down the comments it just seems like they are having one of those days.
So when Sony buys companies, and 15 years later they produce good games, they are growing the industry. When Microsoft buys companies, they need to produce a hit immediately, and already they are just consolidating the industry and killing gaming and locking up exclusives...
Well, that seems like the most double standard thing said on this thread...
Naughty Dogs about to fall. Neil Druckmanns ego has gotten the better of him and it's put a choke collar on the dog. Naughty Dog, also, hasn't been able to stay out of the woke/political game going after a small audience that's stirring up the bigger audience they should have more interest in, and Druckmann knows better. His upbringing has taught him doing the right thing brings success and going against what you know is right leaves one to themself.
It's great Druckmanns had success with The Last of Us, but it's all about him at this point. Naughty Dog have had a set pattern, there's a formula as well to keep things fresh and that vision is dying, plus, Druckmann doesn't have an opposing opinion to balance him like Wells and Balestra or Gavin and Ruben had. Naughty Dog have been focusing on remakes and remasters and that's not what Naughty Dog does. They were the pride of PlayStation at one time but, Druckmann has a choke collar on his teams. Also, keep in mind TEAMS. Naughty Dog ought to have two games ready to go, one to announce and other waiting to support that one.
I don't think they're doing as well as you're giving them credit for
I have yet to play Rise of the Ronin, but other that that, yeah, the PS5 is killing in this first quarter of 2024, I still can't get enough of Helldivers 2 and FFVII is probably a very strong contender to be GotY
I've hear tremendous things regarding ff7 but yeah....helldivers 2 is keeping me really busy. Spreading democracy is hard work!
It is a surprisingly fun game.... I hope it holds my attention now than 6 months, I fear it might get repetitive faster than bigger games do...
Oh I get it you’re a troll. Being paid by M$ or not getting laid, or both.
M$ puts their games on Gamepass day one to sway you to not buy the game but rent the service, Sony doesn’t do this. It’s safe to buy their games day one.
Microsoft’s problem isn’t the “fanboys” it’s the fact that blind loyalists such as yourself don’t realize the “fanboys” are responding to how M$ has moved.
Wake me up when they release something noteworthy from one of the giant can’t miss game companies they bought up.
Can’t wait to play another Doom or Elder Scrolls. Those will be the only games worth playing and I’m sure they won’t be as good as their past games because, as I’ve stated but you seem to ignore, they will get no support and probable be forced to release the game even if it’s not complete.
I'm a troll because I like Helldivers 2 and I'm worried if it's going to still be fun in 6 months?
Sony has multiple banger exclusives, which is why I have a PS5. God of War is still my favorite, although Uncharted is my favorite franchise. I still didn't finish TLOU or TLOU2, but I enjoyed what I played of the remake of the first one.
I still like GT over Forza, but I sometimes think it's a color palette thing. That being said, old GT is better than new GT.
This is how I know people are fanboys though... God forbid you say anything about Sony that isn't praise, and they come after you. Just buy both damn consoles and stop being such a troll yourself...
I'm loving rise of ronin alot more than i was expecting. the reviews didn't cover half the stuff the game does well.
@elda
I just got it yesterday and played at night and morning. I have off till Wed. To play it
I rarely compare games, folks got on my mf nerves with comparing it to tsushima, they're not even tryna be like that game, I'm definitely gone cope rise of ronin soon it looks fun af
I'm loving rebirth even remake. I'm also one of the ones that hate modern ff games. Ff7 trilogy is actually really dope.
I've got no interest in helldivers. I just don't play online games. Sounds good for those that do.
Not trying to convince you at all but I never played an online game either.
180 hours later
Even Phil, when he's posted about playing PS titles.
It's undeniable that PS Studios lead the industry in consistency, even with the recent GaaS blunders except Helldivers 2
While I do agree that Sony puts out bangers, the consistency part imo goes to Nintendo, they rarely, if ever put out bad games. The only thing that may make a Nintendo game seem weak is, another Nintendo game lol. Like Galaxy being better than Sunshine, Metroid prime being better than prime 3, ect.
Even their smaller projects are tons of fun.
I've gotta agree. Luigi's Mansion and Metroid Prime are some of my favorite games of that generation, but Sony takes the crown for the narrative, deeper experiences that Nintendo doesn't try to venture into
No one is denying it Microsoft stated for years they would internally review PlayStation exclusive games and it's been shown that they would detail how incredible games like tlou are internally along with public tweets congratulating both Sony and Nintendo on their big launches like tears of the kingdom.
Some people are not going to like this story, while others will do their best to avoid commenting.
I'm observing this conversation to see who you might be talking about. Intently watching.
Well that's true Abnor
But look at it this way, this isn't the first time we heard what a former Xbox exec really thinks of Playstation. Remember when Peter Moore spoke about how obsessed Xbox execs were with Sony? He even OPENLY admitted that his company intentionally pushed the "console war" narrative to help sales
And before someone says I'm lying about that, here is Peter Moore's interview
https://metro.co.uk/2022/07...
They really do deliver the goods and consistently. You gotta love PlayStation even of you hate PlayStation.
Yeah Mike, did you tell Phil this while you were there because that man clearly does not share the same sentiments. Who can forget when he outright said decent exclusives wouldnt shift the needle for XBOX?
Well he's right, decent exclusives wouldnt have made a difference for Xbox. But that's because you have release them consistently and often, which is something that microsoft is seemingly incapable of doing
Well rightfully so. They usually are. I applaud behavior that applauds good work regardless of platform. PS usually has killer exclusives.
Only true gamers acknowledge good games all around, not just in their singular gaming ecosystem. You may not personally be interested in the 'competitors' games for yourself, but you can't deny they are popular with many others. No need to downplay them further than that.
Of course a former XB employee will speak the truth now that they no longer work for MS/XB.. lol.
“Former” that explains his freedom to just be a gamer now and appreciate the excellent work going on in the industry outside of the Microsoft acquire and consolidate agenda.
He absolutely looks like the kinda dude that would say something lame like “bangers”.
Instant Meme
Honestly with each release since the ps2 days, gaming since I got an understanding as a kid on how titles play lol sony doesn't disappoint with releasing actual thoroughly made good games they let their devs be creative af, unlike Microsoft who only complains, it's sad cause series x is actually a good console too but the bozos don't want to use that potential it's like there's politicians and lame dad bosses that work there that think they know wtf they're doing being legends in their own minds 😂 that sums up Microsoft execs nowadays legends in their own mf minds lol
Yeah MIke Ybarra was working for MS for years. Yeah PS and Nintendo produced bangers for years. MS hasn't produced much in years that has been decent. Only game I had interest in was Hi-Fi Rush which is on all platforms now.
If you're a weeb or you love getting remasters of woke games over and over they're great.
Former is the key word here, must be looking for job. Pretty glaring and obvious how bad it is over in that M$ games division when all the big wigs left after being acquired and now that they don’t work there they are quick to applaud the competition.
I’ve worked for Restaurants next to better ones, lemme tell ya, sure you get their overflow when they are busy, but you often look over walking in to work and wonder why you don’t just work there instead!
when you stop caring about which console company has the best exclusives, you'll know you've grown up
The dust is finally starting to settle from Microsoft’s huge acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but even Blizzard president Mike Ybarra still isn’t exactly sure how things will change for the company. “I literally haven’t sat down with [Microsoft Gaming CEO] Phil [Spencer] and said, ‘So what does all this mean?’” Ybarra tells The Verge in an interview.
Ybarra doesn’t seem worried, though. As part of his opening remarks at Friday’s BlizzCon 2023 keynote, Ybarra said that the show was the start of a “new era” for the company.
“I think the way [Spencer] approaches building teams and focusing on culture and enabling creative freedom is going to give Blizzard a lot more of that sense of being an independent studio than ever before,” Ybarra says. “That’s what I really mean when I talk about a new era of possibilities, of empowerment, of serving players even better than we ever have.” (It probably also helps that Ybarra worked for Spencer for eight years before joining Blizzard.)
*Prior to joining Blizzard, Mike spent 22 years at Microsoft.
The same guy that In February said the following, "Ybarra allegedly made a bizarre comparison to his and other executives' pay packages to those of rank-and-file employees, appeared to downplay the value of QA and customer service roles at the studio, and defended the company's decision to slash annual profit-sharing bonuses.
*According to several sources, Ybarra stated something to the effect of: "If you think that executives are making a lot of money and you aren't, you're living in a myth."
Sounds like a self-righteous prick living in looney toon land.
Didn't ms come out and say something about reeling in bethesada more, why would they not with blizzard
Because Blizzard was operating semi independently before Acti reabsorbed them back into the fold.
Blizzard use to call there own shots back then.
The only thing that Phil is doing is letting Blizzard run and Manage themselves again.
@shin, why not try to be optimistic? If things turn out better... then it wasn't bs as you thought. Just have to let things play out first instead of assuming.
@lightning
The team that was successful back before Activision took over isn't even there anymore, nothing blizzard or MS can do will fix the fact they have no talent anymore. Especially considering MS has no talent themselves. Unless you class ruining the industry as a talent.
@Shin You seriously didn't know that? They were operating semi independently from Activision where they called there own shots and generating a crap load of money. It wasn't until Activision came in and started meddling and nearly ruined them. Jobs being lost and strikes started happening.
This news means they're able to go back to what made them successful (hopefully)
It’s coming from an ex Xbox employee “Mike Ybarra” what do you expect. He’s always been full of crap.
huh?
even from a outside perspective, being owned by someone instead of being your own boss, aint more independent.
the fk is he on about lol.
Yeah after reading it's all pure bs from an ex MS employee , I'm glad I wasted my time thanks 🙃
@Gaming Don't bother....his name is derived from the fact that he rides xbox and nintendo so much 'it' glows
Being owned by someone doesn't always mean you are restricted. Is Insomniac worse off now that Sony owns them? Sometimes you are afforded more freedom when you don't have to worry about dollars or shopping ideas around for approval.
Time will tell of course, but it's not always just cut and dry.
Is Insomniac free?
What new IP or ideas have they been working on to satisfy that artistic craving?
As far I can tell Insomniac has been relegated to continue evolving the Spiderman formula.
You don't see them working on PSvr2 (as far as we know) or any side projects as they used to when they were independent.
I could ask the same for Naugty Dog, Santa Monica, etc.
And yet Insomniac was one of the few notorious Studios to have made some VR games in the past when they were independent.
Microsoft plans to leave ZeniMax alone, according to Phil Spencer
https://www.pcgamer.com/mic...
Now Pete Hines had an unexpected departure and Zenimax reports directly to Microsoft
After 3 years of 'hands-off' management, Microsoft is making Bethesda and ZeniMax report directly to an Xbox bigwig
https://www.pcgamer.com/aft...
So yeah, keep thinking that, I expect your letter of resignation to be on Phil's desk by the end of next year.
I'm no expert but I think the prob with Bethesda is that they basically dropped the ball with Redfall and in some aspect Starfield.
Let's not forget that MS basically gave them total freedom and an extra year to polish their games and it probably didn't meet MS expectations.
So having to report to MS makes them more accountable.
It doesn't mean that Bethesda won't call the shots
In a similar way, Rockstars do reports to Take2 yet still operate by themselves.
Yeah, and I'm sure Microsoft and their history of releasing unfinished games had nothing to do with those problems, of course...
So let me get this straight MS told Bethesda " Hey Guys we know you have been working for several years on Redfall but could you work 2 or 3 more years on the project and make sure the game is unfisnihed... We have a reputation to uphold"
What you just said doesn't make sense.
Microsoft has a long history of rushing out unfinished games, this goes back way father than Redfall or Halo Infinite or even Sea of Thieves... That's just a short list of the most egregious recent offenders.
"Microsoft has a long history of rushing out unfinished games, this goes back way father than Redfall or Halo Infinite or even Sea of Thieves..."
And they had no problem releasing the usuals games like Gears of War, Forza Horizon, Forza Motorsports, Age of Empire, Flight simulator or any Halo single-player campaigns without any issues.
Actually, the majority of publishers have no problem releasing their usuals single-players experience on console
DMC, Resident Evil, Plague Tales, Dark Soul, Dishonered, Final Fantasy.
So that leave us with the multiplayer part or the GAAS game and it's easy to say Sea of Thieves, States of Decay, Halo infinite Multiplayer was released unfinished but can you name the majority of GAAS game from Capcon, Square, Ubisoft, etc that released as a complete product?
Avengers? No Man Sky? FFXiV? Overwatch 1 or 2? Rust? DayZ? Dead by Daylight?, Payday?, Destiny? GTA online?
And just ask yourself how Come Bethesda had no problem releasing great games single-player experience Evil Within2, Dishonered, Pray, Deathloop, Doom, Wolfenstein but seems to fail the moment it become like Fallout 76?
More independent than ever before? Even more than when they were on their own? And also the exact same thing was said when they merged with Activision.
Look at that…. MS is making sure studios are healthy.
Meanwhile Sony is collapsing
In bizarro opposite world in another reality yeah, unless that was sarcasm, Sony are breaking records month on month, year on year, Xbox is spending all its Dads money and still getting trounced lmao. What world do you live in, this is insane 🤣
I don’t think u know how market share works…
Better yet, I bet you think sony is winning because of how many consoles sales they have…. Lol. Clearly u r lost
Yeah xbox market share is about 20 percent so what are they winning ? I assume that is why Phil the liar Spencer says they are out of the console business by 2027 , because they have so much market share 🤣 you are a clown 🤡
Actually, with as much as they have in common, these two sacks are made for one another.
I swear Phil's pant size goes up with each acquisition and "partnership".
“I think the way [Spencer] approaches building teams and focusing on culture and enabling creative freedom is going to give Blizzard a lot more of that sense of being an independent studio than ever before,” Ybarra says.
Oooooooh Reeeeeally? Ask Tim Scaffer and Doublefine about that one yo. Since they just be crap'n out creativity these days under good old MS. Such a snowjob.
Basically you guys are willing to lie to yourself in every way so that you can believe the
industry hasn’t been compromised with augmented intelligence economics that rely on your docile aptitudes.
Great interview!
Microsoft is listening to the gamer, this is what makes the Xbox one best gaming console and getting better every year. With monthly update it will only get better and better. many things are still on the way and looking forward to dx12 :).....