Why Xbox bought Ninja Theory

Microsoft explains why mid-sized studios are important to its Game Pass subscription service.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I understand why MS bought Playground, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. However, Compulsion Games to me was an unproven studio, I found its purchase to be odd.

[Cohagen420]

They threw offers at a lot of studios supposedly, not all of them took the bait so they took what they could get.

[thexmanone]

you got a link to that, I`d like to see it

[King_Noctis]

Yeah I’d really like to see your source for that.

[showtimefolks]

Xman

No need for a link that's how acquisitions work. And ms has a track record of shutting down studios so maybe some of the high profile ones didn't want to sell their freedom

Like for example if they approached insomniac they wouldn't sell when they didn't want to be bought out by Sony(and sunset overdrive didn't sell well on Xbox) or if they approached platinum games they wouldn't sell because ms cancelled their game

Now if ms show they are giving creative freedom and resources than down the road maybe more studios would want to join

It was a good start by Ms but let's see what type of games these studios work on

[doggo84]

I'm sure Ms tried to buy Insomniac at some some stage too

[Christopher]

***No need for a link that's how acquisitions work.***

No, that's not how acquisition work.

What @Cohagen420 said was they threw offers at a lot of studios. That's not how it works.

What happens is (and very watered down):

1. Company becomes interested in buying other companies to bolster their portfolio.
2. Company reviews companies of interest and value that won't cost too much but will add more profit potential.
3. Company narrows down options to a handful if not just one company of great importance.
4. Company approaches companies with interest and a figure based on their financial potential in a long term period (10-years or more).
5. Company either says 'no interest', 'okay', or 'not enough'
6. Go back to #1

It's not just throwing a lot of offers out to a lot of companies. That's not how it works.

[obidanshinobi]

I think there's some good talent at Compulsion Games, with more staff and a higher budget I'm confident they can create a good AAA game. We Happy Few is garbage though.

[Poopmist]

It probably would've been good if they kept it as a short game.

[gamer7804]

Hopefully their next game is less weird

[Jinger]

Compulsion Games has now done Contrast and We Happy Few which are both sitting in the 60% range on Meta. Both games most reviewers agreed had some really good and creative ideas, but I think the studio just lacks solid direction and overall programming talent. Spencer said that he really loves their creativity and the stories they want to tell so with some AAA support and help from other in house studios I'm sure they will have potential.

[rainslacker]

That's what I think. They certainly have the creativity, its just a matter of getting the talent that can bring that creativity to life. If MS can make them more stable financially, and provide better management for the studio, then I think they can make some really good games.

[Brazz]

I agree whit playground and ninja, but why undead labs? U.labs just have state of decay under their belt, they are prety much at the same level of compulsion. U.labs and compulsion need to improve alot, both only got low meta games.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Undead Labs has had success with State of Decay despite the semi-polarizing reviews of the series. Undead Labs like Playground also had a long term relationship with MS. Undead Labs needs access to better programmers. With Microsoft owning both Havok and Simplygon, first-party games should have no excuses for being unoptimized.

[conanlifts]

State of decay is a niche game that does have a small cult following. People like myself think the game is amazing, but I do agree that it is not for everyone. But with this in mind it is great for those that are fans and I think it was a worthwhile purchase. Plus there is so much more that could be done with a bigger budget and more help. The game has so much untapped potential.

[rainslacker]

I think compulsion is capable of making decent to good games. I did like Contrast. I can understand why MS would want more mid-tier games for something like game pass, because AAA games are kind of too expensive for a subscription service without a lot more users or a secondary monetazation scheme for those releases.

Compulsion seems to be a dev which can get ahead of itself in ambition though, and I think that its possible that some of their problems come from management that can't handle changes or adapt. I feel this way because they changed up what they were trying to do with WHF, when there wasn't much need to. That kind of thing should have been done earlier in development. It's not unheard of, but it leads to problems if the studio itself can't adapt well enough.

[sprinterboy]

What I want to know, serious question. 1. Why didn't alot of ps owners support a great game called heavenly sword
2. How many last gen ms multiple console owners ie 360/ps3 support heavenly sword.
Its weird how a game or games don't get supported some times in sales when it's a great game ie prison break which got 2 or 3/10 on reviews yet it never needed a patch after launch because its frame rate was solid from the launch, no screen tearing, no bugs or glitches and yet it played exactly the same as a PC cult classic riddick gameplay/mechanics wise which got 9/10 reviews.
Unfortunately if a game/s not the in cool game it sometimes doesn't sell well.
Same goes for until dawn, modnation racers (just as good Mario kart imo) minus the load times, MAG was awesome but everyone loved cod instead, quantum break (great game) didn't sell well, metro series is a classic, can't believe that only sold roughly 1.5m yet people crave for half life 3 announcement yet haven't played the metro series.
Its crazy how some games do well and others don't.
I love my uncharted series and bought all the games and dlc but let's not kid ourselves, it's a cover shooter game we've all played b4 but it was the characters sully, drake, naughty dog etc and the story which made it so great yet spec ops which is absolutely awesome only sold 2m or so across 3 platforms?
I know I'm rambling, I agreed with your comment btw plus I'm off topic lol.

[JBryant0619]

Because Heavenly Sword is a 10-12 Hour game with no replayability? Not worth $60 in my opinion. I did buy it for $20 used down the line though.

[rainslacker]

Heavenly Sword did decently well for a launch game. Not spectacular, but it was barely marketed. Plus, it was instantly compared to GOW.

I can say that I know a lot of PS3 owners seem to have at least played the game, and I haven't seen a single person say that it was a bad game. It was one of my favorite games of last gen personally. It had solid game play, a great story, and some of the best voice acting of any game last gen....even compared to ND games.

Sometimes games go under the radar and become cult classics. it sucks for those good games that manage to come out.

[3-4-5]

They needed to acquire companies first. Then once they belong to Microsoft, they can then determine which type of games that studio will make. (Obviously consulting the studio first).

Now that they have them, they are building up for next gen.

Expect a lot of games in year 2-3 of the next Xbox and not that many at launch because it's going to take a while for these studios to get some games going, although I'm sure some of them have been working on next gen stuff in the background anyways.

[LeeU]

I think that the studio they've acquired have shown promise and mass appeal with whatever games they've released. Ninja theory has had some great titles fly under the radar for example. Compulsion games is a clear outlier in that it hasn't really shown us anything other than Contrast and We happy few. At the very least I know they are capable of creating an interesting world. Who knows, with Microsofts financially backing them they might create something bigger and hopefully better too.

[sprinterboy]

Contrast was a great game, 1st game I played b4 resogun and kz shadow fall on my ps4 launch night lol

[Razzer]

"It's telling how Booty is using 'Game Pass' rather than 'Xbox One' in his answers. It's clear the subscription service is taking on a far more prominent role within the Xbox business. "

Yep

[gangsta_red]

The Xbox One is already established and it's a given that these games will be available for it through regular means.

Game Pass on the other hand is still new and in need of more content, so yep, as of now these execs are talking more about Game Pass and saying how they will expand it's content.

[Razzer]

@gangsta_red

I don't disagree with any of that. Game Pass is obviously getting a major push from Microsoft going forward. Game Pass is probably the most attractive gaming product that Microsoft has. Microsoft bought Ninja Theory to help boost their pipeline of content into Game Pass. Both Windows 10 and Xbox will benefit from it in the long run.

@giovanealex

Damn.....triggered over one word.

[mandingo]

It’s been good lately in my opinion. Adding doom hitman fallout and ruiner. Of course if you’ve played these already it doesn’t affect you. I haven’t played hitman fallout or ruiner so good value for me

[giovanealex]

Nope.

[rainslacker]

I doubt most of these studios will make games for Xbox One specifically. Most just finished up games, and by the time they get around to releasing their next games, it'll likely be a new gen. Its possible that they could be cross gen though, except for Playground and that new studio. Mid-tier titles likely won't require as much power.

[Obscure_Observer]

@rainslacker

"Its possible that they could be cross gen though, except for Playground and that new studio."

Playground Games already confirmed that they´re developing their new Open World RPG using the X as the base hardware.

[rainslacker]

That's true. I always forget they made a 2nd team for that. Probably because when it was announced they were dodgy about it being exclusive, and at the same time even talked about the possibility of making a multi-plat, and it really hasn't been mentioned much since.

But that being said, is the X the Xbox One, or the mid gen release? If it doesn't come out on the OGX1, then it doesn't change what I said in regards to them. If MS changes the rules of generations, it doesn't mean they're making these games for those who brought into the X1, rather, they're abandoning them in favor of their new hardware.

But I was just speculating with my comment, so I'm not going to fuss about it too much.

[Jinger]

Because they need another high quality studio that will create intriguing games?

[AK91]

Because of how awesome Hellblade was.

[mark_parch]

I'm half way through the game now and the atmosphere and sound design is outstanding. combat is simple but enjoyable. I'm not to keen on some of the puzzle elements but overall so far really enjoying it

[Goldby]

Wait til you get the new weapon. More combos open up

[KickSpinFilter]

I do hope your wearing a good pair of headphones.

[Goldby]

For the people disagreeing there are new combos based kn if you are tapping or holding down the Atta k button along with different direction input.

The sword has to be glowing for them to work

[princejb134]

RIP ninja theory. I used to actually like their games but with MS buying them I lost hope for them

[mark_parch]

watch this and understand that now ninja theory will be able to make a masterpiece.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[gangsta_red]

Excellent link. A lot of people don't understand how small developers and development of games is extremely costly and what these guys have to do to survive.

Reminds me of Housemarque and why they are currently making a BR game.

[doggo84]

No I'm confident ninja theory will do well with Microsoft. Microsoft bought them for a reason and will be and important component of their first party portfolio... I'm supporting Microsoft on this on, and I'm excited by the possibility of what the 5 new studio will produce next generation. You have to give Phil Spencer credit for this, he is improving xbox

[giovanealex]

So long, dude. You will not be missed.

[King_Noctis]

When MS actually give devs freedom those devs can do a whole lot than what they can on their own. Just look at Mojang and Minecraft. MS gave those guys freedom and they pushed Minecraft to the next level.

And we had recently just learn that MS is doing the same thing to Ninja Theory by giving them creative freedom. So i have high hope for them.

[Gh05t]

Wait, so you "used" to like their games. Please tell me what about their games do you not like now that they are owned by MS? What changed in ANY of their old games that you all the sudden don't like anymore?

[jagermaster619]

@princejb134
Or you won't get to play their games because you own a PlayStation!

Oh here is where you say "I have a PC so I'm good" lol you guys crack me up 😂🤣😅

[kevnb]

Being bought by microsoft is usually a horrible business decision, but im sure the owners got a good chunk of cash.

[mark_parch]

please watch

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[kevnb]

I wont bother, of course people can do a song and dance and make it seem awesome to be bought by microsoft... history is not on their side.

[King_Noctis]

@kevnb

You won’t bother so you can blame MS for everything that they do? How is that even remotely logical?

[kevnb]

@King_Noctis yes I do blame Microsoft for the things they do, who else would I blame? Seems logical to me.

[giovanealex]

@kevnb ok.

[Gh05t]

Please tell me you are kidding? Please name one studio that MS bought that wasn't in financial trouble at the time of purchase, who didn't have key figures leave and go open other studios, that have failed?

In fact I would bet you can't name 3 studios that MS has "ruined" in general. Because if you actually cared about the studios you would know what was going on more than just a MS acquisition and then closure.

Rare when aquired was already a shell of it's former self and they are at least still open today doing what they claim they want to be doing (why would you blame MS if the studio says it's the game they want to make?). And Lionhead was financially screwed and MS bought them to gain the Fable IP as an exclusive, let them make more of them and they weren't good, then Fable legends was terrible so they shut it down after a lot of the key people had already left before MS bought them to form media molecule which is another awesome studio.

At least these aqquisituons aren't looking like the company has already had all the leaders leave BEFORE Microsoft purchased them.

[kevnb]

straw man argument, but ill bite. Ensemble and FASA were great studios before microsoft ruined them for example. They arent quite EA bad, but its hard to ignore. Even Rare made a great game on gamecube right before they were sold... Heck they were bought only a year after they made conker, give your head a shake. I know some people get confused since they kept making some gameboy games even after microsoft bought them, but check it out yourself.
http://ca.ign.com/articles/...
http://ca.ign.com/articles/...

[mark_parch]

@OgGaming27
Two times is not spamming, thank you.

[mark_parch]

@kevnb
So just to be clear you think ninja theory lied in the video I posted, you think they won't be able to make a better game than hell blade with their full team working on it and a bigger budget, you think ninja theory and Microsoft lied when they said ninja theory would have full creative control to make whatever they want. I want to play the best games regardless of what console they're on. Everything ninja theory needs to make an even bigger and better game than hell blade is now in place. You can bring up past failures all you want but this is different and you know that. I haven't posted on N4G for awhile but it's still obvious from this comment section that nothing has changed.

[Sevir]

i Still feel that Ninja Theory was a better fit with Sony... but whatever, when they release their next game, i'll drop the funds down for an Xbox to play it.

[doggo84]

Same

[Bennibop]

I agree they do seem a better fit with Sony but I think that is the point. Microsoft have noticed the success Sony are having with singe player focused games and want a piece of the action.

[kevnb]

Ninja theory's next game will probably be a battle royale or something lol.

[kevnb]

well ya, sony actually knows what they are doing.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Why did NT release HELLBLADE on PS4 first? Because PS4 for owners would buy their niche game, if it had been a console exclusive for MS - sales would've bombed. And bombed hard.

PS4 owners (and PC) kept NT relevant, watch all the dev diaries - NT could've gone the way of the dodo without solid sales on PS4.

I always thought Tameem was a greedy bloke, slimed too - he has shown his true colors. I just hope NT are around in 5 yrs from now.

[gangsta_red]

And then Hellblade came to Xbox and now MS owns them.

So much for PS4 owners keeping them relevant, guess it wasn't enough to keep them independent.

Oh yeah...
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Did you read my comment? Or do you have trouble with reading comprehension?

If HELLBLADE had of bombed on PS4 and PC, there would have been no xbox version. MS could of brought them for a bargain basement price then.

Just shows they are 2 faced, go where the money is - like I said greedy. They aren't that good a purchase, a surprise - yes.

[gangsta_red]

"Or do you have trouble with reading comprehension?"

Yea I did read your comment but I do have trouble reading the crazy and insane.

"If HELLBLADE had of bombed on PS4 and PC,..."

That's not what you said or even implied in your first comment but still LOL worthy all the same.

"Just shows they are 2 faced, go where the money is - like I said greedy"

So you rather they stay broke and have to close their doors. Did you even watch the clip I left as to why they got purchased or do you like to stay ignorant ?

[Skankinruby]

That's the way they do business, they don't put effort into building their own studios they just let others do the work to get established then buy them out.

[giovanealex]

@Skankinruby ok.
NEXT!

[rainslacker]

He's actually not wrong for the most part. MS proper has a long history of either buying out companies which create things they think will benefit them, or things they feel will compete too heavily against them. They haven't done a lot of that in the gaming business though, and some of their early acquisitions way back when were more to quickly build their studios.

I'm not saying they're doing it here, but it is the quickest way to get a studio up and running to solve an immediate problem.

[Segata]

MS has always bought things instead of developing them. They bought Skype. They bought the company that made the Kinect tech. How they always worked.

[princejb134]

many companies do this. They either buy start ups or companies in a drought, this is nothing new. I know apple, google, facebook, activision, EA, etc. have done it

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

And when they can't buy or monopolise an industry they're in - they leave. Cancerous company through and through.

[WeaseL]

With a subscription service you need a constant flow of games no matter what the quality, you usually get a lot of shovelware and some gems.

[gangsta_red]

"...you usually get a lot of shovelware and some gems"

So basically like retail

[gazgriff2k12]

to do an EA and destory them

[lellkay]

Compulsion nail ideas, but lack when it comes to execution, hopefully under Microsoft they can really deliver something special.

[Father__Merrin]

Ninja theory are excellent Devs but they must make Xbox one exclusive games that are not on pc and don't go into gamepass.

[Spurg]

????
Why

[Father__Merrin]

if current xbox one excluisve games had remained on console, the console itself would be muchmore marketable to core gamers imo. at the moment its not a must buy if you can play the games elsewhere. had ps4 numbes been what xbox one numbers are now i know microsoft would not have done cross play.

hopefully next gen its a fresh start with xbox3 having compelling exclusives with xbox3 the only place to play them, hence people rush out to buy

[Razzer]

Oh well. Microsoft has stated all new games will be Play Anywhere and on Game Pass.

[gangsta_red]

"if current xbox one excluisve games had remained on console,"

But they were exclusive for the first few years and still nothing was changed with the Xbox sales.

And unless you have a link to prove other wise I don't see PC sales spiking because MS announced their games would also be on PC.

"...one numbers are now i know microsoft would not have done cross play."

Another head scratcher considering that crossplay hasn't increased their console sales and the one game MS has allowed crossplay with is already a mega hit with millions of players online playing across almost every platform..

"..the only place to play them,"

Unfortunately that is not in MS's best interest business wise. They would rather sell a console to console gamers, and sell a version to PC players.

[CrimsonWing69]

Because they're an amazing dev studio?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Good read and interview.

[Aenea]

So they let it die in 5 years time?

[C-H-E-F]

Because they want them to make AR games for their VR headset.

[gamer7804]

I want a good deep AAA from MS though. I feel that is what they are lacking , not as much the AA

[Thundercat77]

Time will tell. Anyway the studio was financially on the red line.

[KickSpinFilter]

Ya the only shocking thing at this years E3 was really the Ninja Theory Accusation.
That sold so well on PS4, but I get it NT was unsure of their future even though game did so well.
To lock down a deal with anybody is better than fending for yourself if your unsure about your future.
As a PS4 user rather bummed about it, loved Hellblade and was a really fun Platinum.
To miss out on next game is a bummer, but who knows where I'll be next gen.

[Knightofelemia]

I thought if anything Microsoft would have snagged the studio that made PUBG

[StormLegend]

They did that studio is called blue hole games.

[Knightofelemia]

From what I read Microsoft did not buy Blue Hole that studio is owned by a company called Tencent games and a guy named Chang Byung-gyu. Microsoft only paid for the exclusivity of PUBG for Xbox.

[Segata]

They are owned by Tencent and Tencent is a massive massive company. They rival some of the biggest companies on earth.

[Atticus_finch]

I hope ninja theory is not sucked dry and closed down. MS is good at that

[Jayszen]

Because MS needed the kind of magic Sony has and they thought that buying a studio that has worked closely with Sony would do the trick. The surprise really was that Ninja Theory went along with it after having bleated repeatedly about independence and making games of a certain size and quality. I guess Microsoft offered enough money.

[spambot0815]

easy, because of the recognition of their last game and the hope that their name sells a couple of next gen xboxes more, but as we all know from the past, if microsoft buys something it's only going down the hill for that studio, sorry ninja theory but that's the harsh truth.

[fungusar]

How can Xbox buy anything?

[StifflerK]

Looking forward to what NT does next, although It would be nice to see a 4k remaster/remake of Heavenly Sword or Enslaved.

[jjb1981]

I started playing this last night on the one X and it has the most incredible graphics I have seen on a console. I was blown away by the first 10 minutes. Now I realize why they bought Ninja Theory. The environmental immersion is jaw-dropping.

[Elda]

NT should have stayed multi-plat developers,they'll learn.

[GoodnessGreatness]

Because they can't make their own games.

[Segata]

They are desperate and bought a mediocre developer with high technical skills. Is there is one thing Xbox excelled at this gen it's mediocre exclusives.

[PhoenixUp]

Wow the description makes it look like Microsoft cares more about the subscription service than the console itself

[Tross]

Because they didn't get the memo that the studios they already had would be way more helpful if they actually used them? That doesn't actually give me much confidence that we will see much more than a single launch exclusive from each of these studios for MS's next console before they're forgotten about like Rare and Mojang.

[lollord]

Every studio that have has released a game recently or is working in one though, except from mojang which doesn't make new games but updates to one of the biggest games in the world. Hell rare just released a game(albeit crap one), so this is a pretty stupid argument really.

[kayoss]

To ruin it??

[lollord]

Obviously. You really think they would pay millions for ninja theory for them to make games. Pssh.

[Sy_Wolf]

How could a box of hardware buy a company? Did the author maybe mean “Microsoft?”

[DivineAssault]

Because they needed talented SP game devs. We'll see if they remain good when the greedy publisher pulls their strings

[christocolus]

Nice to know they aren't done acquiring devs.

[ILostMyMind]

Because they need something to advertise. What they have now is not working.

Sorry for that, guys. You know it is true.