Microsoft Studios
Latest
Lionhead working on 'other sorts of games' that aren't 'Fable-esque'
Lionhead has something in the works that doesn't have anything to do with the Fable series. "We're working on other different sorts of games as well that we're not talking about right now and won't be Fable-esque," Lionhead boss John Needham enigmatically confirmed with Eurogamer. Producer Stuart Whyte added that Lionhead is "not just a Fable studio" and that "where we are at the moment we've had a lot of Fable games in recent times, but I wouldn't say that we're just Fable." Whyte concluded that he "can't really say any more" about Lionhead's current development slate. The studio's latest Fable game is the Fable Anniversary collection, due February 4, on Xbox 360 Lionhead was acquired by Microsoft in 2006 and has since worked entirely on the Fable series. Needham took over the role of studio boss last year, after serving stints at Cryptic Studios and Gazillion.
Killer Instinct's Spinal is no skin, all bones in first screens
Spinal is set to be added to Killer Instinct's roster later this month. In anticipation of the new character, Microsoft has dropped some screens showing off the malnourished combatant's updated design – except for his tried-and-true headband that is. Some things never go out of style.
State of Decay dev extends relationship with Microsoft Studios
Undead Labs, developer of the runaway zombie hit State of Decay, has signed a "multi-year, multi-title agreement" with Microsoft Studios. "We'll be able to share details later this year, but as with State of Decay, we think it's best if we just keep our heads down and build some prototypes before we talk too much," said company founder Jeff Strain on the Undead Labs blog. "For now, suffice it to say there are big things going on with State of Decay." So, the obvious guess here would be a version of State of Decay for Xbox One à la DayZ. But is that too obvious?
Former Destiny design director Joseph Staten returns to Microsoft
Joseph Staten, original holder of the Halo Bible and design director at Bungie, has returned to Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn profile page. In September, Bungie announced Staten was exiting his role as design director on Destiny; leaving the company after 15 years of service to tackle "new creative challenges." Bungie is set to launch its next franchise, a ten-year plan called Destiny, with Activision as its publishing partner later this year. According to Staten's LinkedIn profile, his new role at Microsoft Studios will be as Senior Creative Director. In a statement to Joystiq, Microsoft noted that Staten's role will be to shape the "franchise strategy for some Microsoft Studios titles." The publisher also clarified that Staten "is not working directly on the next Halo title." The Halo franchise is continuing in a new direction with developer 343 Industries at the helm. "We're thrilled to welcome Joseph back to the Microsoft Studios family. Over the past 15 years at Bungie, Joseph has been a key creative force behind some of gaming's most iconic and celebrated franchises, including Myth II, ONI and virtually every "Halo" game leading up to Halo: Reach." Microsoft's prepared statement said. "As a senior creative director, Joseph will help create the world's best entertainment on Xbox."
Killer Instinct's free character is now Sabrewulf
Double Helix has dropped a new patch on Xbox One fighter Killer Instinct, rotating out Jago for Sabrewulf in the free-to-play version of the game. If you're rocking the free-to-play version and want to go back to Jago, you'll have to drop $5 to unlock him. The patch also includes a host of general fixes – like squashing a bug that would erase player data when signing in with Kinect and updating the ranking system to allow for quicker progression and fewer demerits for losing online matches. There's also a few fixes for some previously unblockable conditions, which you can read about in the full, in-depth patch notes over on the Double Helix forums. Killer Instinct was a launch game for Microsoft's Xbox One console. While the current roster is only comprised of six fighters, Double Helix has promised at least two more: Spinal is expected to appear sometime this month, while Fulgore will join the cast in March. Following all of Double Helix's planned season one content, an Arcade mode will be added to the game.
Dead Rising 3's first DLC episode delayed, now coming Jan. 21
Capcom has announced that "Operation Broken Eagle," the first DLC episode for Xbox One's zombie smasher Dead Rising 3, has been pushed back to January 21. "Adding new content to the massive open world of Los Perdidos is a major undertaking, and to ensure we provide the best possible experience for players, we are putting a few additional weeks of polish and testing into the episode before it's released," an announcement from a Capcom spokesperson reads. "Stay tuned for additional updates." The first DLC episode was originally due on Christmas Eve, December 24. Operation broken Eagle follows Spec Ops Commander Adam Kane, who is on the lookout for the missing President of the United States. The episode adds some new base weapons, one new combo weapon, an additional vehicle and some fresh threads to the game. It's the first of four planned DLC episodes that are part of Dead Rising 3's $30 season pass.
Microsoft partners with Japanese developers, games to be announced in 2014
Microsoft has signed on some Japanese development teams to bolster the Xbox One's presence in that region, Microsoft Studios Corporate VP Phil Spencer told Kotaku. Spencer said the as-yet-unannounced games will be revealed in 2014, and that they will be "full Japanese games" as opposed to downloadable ones. Spencer also discussed the hardware manufacturer's relationship with Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi, who recently launched Crimson Dragon on Xbox One. Microsoft is currently "talking to him about what we might want to do next with him," and that "there's some interest out there in some older [intellectual property]." Spencer specifically noted that Phantom Dust, Futatsugi's original Xbox cult classic, has been discussed as a property that could potentially be rebooted. Futatsugi told Joystiq in June at E3 that he would like to make a Crimson Dragon RPG. Spencer added that he expects an increase in Japanese indie developer interest in Xbox One. "We kicked off our independent developer program when were at Tokyo Game Show and saw some top talent walk through the door, so I think you'll see some indies too... I'm committed to the development there."
Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive pinned for 2014 by Microsoft
Hidden in Microsoft''s Xbox One launch blurb is a fresh 2014 release window for Insomniac shooter Sunset Overdrive. Insomniac didn't date the Microsoft-published game when it was announced at E3, but it's on course for next year according to the big M. Sunset Overdrive is in a playable state and has "passed its vertical slice" according to Microsoft Studios Corporate VP Phil Spencer, which in non-management speak means it's been demo-ed successfully. Speaking to Polygon, Spencer said, "We're playing a full section of the game and feeling really good about the open world gameplay that they've put together. I like the investment around new IP at the launch of a new console." Insomniac hasn't revealed too much about its stylized open-world shooter, which looks to be an over-the-top, vibrant multiplayer game like Fuse once was. With Spike TV's VGX show around the corner, we wouldn't be surprised to hear more in the near future.
Joystiq Streams: Ryse Son of Rome, Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct [Watch the replay!]
Update: The live stream has ended. Watch the replay above. If you've read our reviews for Ryse: Son of Rome and Dead Rising 3, you may want to learn even more about two of Xbox One's biggest launch games. Your pals at Joystiq are streaming them both in a special edition of our Joystiq Streams feature, right here at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Xav and Richard will be there to answer your questions while they murder barbarians and/or zombies. Be sure t jump into the chat on the official Joystiq Twitch stream page!
Spencer: Microsoft focused on core games for PC
Microsoft Studios vice president Phil Spencer reaffirmed the company's commitment to PC gaming in a recent chat with Shacknews, revealing that the company has several core gamer-focused first party projects in the works for Windows. "We probably have more individual projects on Windows than we've had in ten years at Microsoft Studios," Spencer said. "At the launch of Windows 8, we had about 30 games in the Windows Store. A lot of those you'd consider lightweight or casual games... But we've covered all of that property now. Now we're starting to look at bigger and core gamer things. I'm excited by that." While Microsoft is currently focusing on its upcoming console launch, notable Xbox One projects like Titanfall and Project Spark are also slated for a PC release. Spencer notes that cross-platform interactivity and content-sharing will be a key component of Microsoft's strategy going forward. "For us, we're first-party across all Microsoft devices," Spencer explained. "We definitely think about ourselves that way in our studios. If you think about a service like Spotify or Netflix, you expect that service to work on any device you have. For some games, it will be similar. I just want to have an Xbox Live account and it works on my phone, on my console, and my Windows machine. And then I'll be able to access my content in a screen-appropriate way."
Dead Rising 3's SmartGlass app lets NPC call, probably not for bowling
Capcom Vancouver developer Brent Arnst wrote about the creation of Dead Rising 3's SmartGlass app in a Gamasutra blog yesterday, detailing the way the zombie-ridden universe's survivors will interact with it. Arnst noted a character that will call and text the player "at any time to offer advice, new missions or tempting prizes," an idea stemming from the team's desire to make the SmartGlass implementation feel more natural for the game. Developing a relationship with this character will offer missions that are only available to those using SmartGlass. Completing these missions will award the player with access codes, a currency that unlocks and expands options for the game's military apps, which allow the player to call for air strikes or launch of flares to distract zombie hordes. USB sticks containing details for a hint-providing app or new ringtones and wallpapers for SmartGlass will also be hidden throughout the game. The blog mentioned other apps for SmartGlass as well, including a map, a news feed with mock stories, a hint system, an item finder and a way to track missions. Arnst also shared the idea of "being able to 'call' up your nearest safe house and have a survivor you had previously rescued run to your aid." That kind of sounds like the perfect way for survivors to redeem themselves for the brainless, infuriating actions of their predecessors.
Ryse $20 season pass grants access to four DLC packs
Microsoft announced a season pass program for Ryse: Son of Rome today. The $20 season pass will give players access to four DLC packs over the course of multiple months following the Xbox One exclusive's November 22 launch. Ryse's four pieces of DLC will feature a new mode, 14 multiplayer maps, six new skins for players, a new equipment tier and level events. The season pass is a 25 percent discount on the combined, as-yet-unannounced individual prices of the DLC packs, and will also come with a sword and shield exclusive to season pass holders. The Crytek-developed game will include 11 multiplayer maps at launch and an extra one specific to the Day One edition.
Microsoft Studios hires UK celeb Jonathan Ross as executive producer
British chat show host Jonathan Ross is the unexpected newest member of Microsoft's Xbox team, bringing his "unparalleled understanding for audience trends" to UK studios like Lionhead, Lift London, Rare, and Soho Productions, according to a press release. Ross, one of British TV's most famous faces across the last two decades, isn't as peripheral to gaming as he may seem. While the 52-year-old Londoner is maybe best known in gaming circles for spilling the beans on Fable 3, he's also regarded for having an avid interest in the medium - I chatted with him at this year's BAFTA awards where he talked very knowledgeably about the nominees. Also, his production company collaborated on iOS and Android game Catcha Catcha Aliens, in which he had a hand with the design. That said, it's not clear how Ross will specifically aid the Xbox team. At a London event Eurogamer attended this week, Microsoft corporate VP Phil Harrison said his company hired the celeb to help "change our thinking." Meanwhile, Life London head Lee Schuneman said, "Microsoft Studios is focused on creating the best in class cross-media entertainment, with Lift London specifically looking at creating IP across multiple channels. Jonathan will be a huge asset for us as he really knows how to connect to mass audiences with an impressive understanding for audience tastes and trends." The questions remains: Who will Sony and Nintendo hire to compete with Ross? What could Oprah bring to the PlayStation 4, or Ellen to the Wii U? Answers on a postcard, please.
Four new Forza Motorsport 5 rides revealed
Developer Turn 10 has revealed four new fresh whips from the Forza Motorsport 5 roster this week: the 2012 Nissan GT-R Black Edition (above), 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400, 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series, and the 2007 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Microsoft's flagship racing franchise launches alongside the Xbox One on November 22.
Wordament now on A-N-D-R-O-I-D
Boggling puzzler Wordament spelled a path onto Android over the weekend, available now on Google Play for the inviting price of free. The Xbox Live-supported game came out on Windows 8, Windows Phone, and iOS last year, and the Android version syncs up with all of those to support cross-platform play. In each game, players get two minutes to score as many points as possible by making paths of letters across a grid to form words. At the end, leaderboards show how they rank against others playing the game, across the globe and the various platforms. If you're a good enough wordsmith, there's 50G worth of GamerScore up for grabs.
PSA: Halo 4 World Championship finals streaming live this weekend
The world's top Spartans will finish the fight for a grand prize of $200,000 this weekend at PAX Prime in the Halo 4 Global Championship Finals, Microsoft announced today. If you're at PAX Prime, Microsoft is hosting the event in Benaroya Hall from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST until Sunday. If you're unable to attend, the rounds leading up to the finals will be streamed on TwitchTV today from 11:30 to 4pm PST. Spectators eager for the the final rounds can watch tensions mount via a livestream on Xbox Live and HaloWaypoint.com starting at 4 p.m. PST. The stream will be hosted by Major Nelson, Blair Herter and Jessica Chobot.
Project Spark expected to add Kinect gameplay too, says producer
At Gamescom, Team Dakota gave me a quick demonstration of how to animate characters using Kinect motion capture in the Xbox One game-maker Project Spark. I've got to say, there are few things that have given me more pleasure in Cologne than watching a game designer pretend to be a troll, stomping his feet and gesturing angrily at the screen – the irony wasn't lost. The demo worked great, the on-screen troll reflecting software engineer Eddie Parker's exaggerated stomping with a palpable accuracy. The mo-cap is just another facet of Project Spark, and the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Windows 8 game continues to ooze potential. At the demo I saw a visually authentic recreation of Limbo, one that Team Dakota was able to seamlessly switch from black-and-white 2D platformer to lush, tropical-looking first-person adventure with just a few clicks. As closed alpha has shown, people can make all kinds of things in Project Spark: third-person RPGs, shooters, even god games. Parker told me one member of Team Dakota put together a Sim City-like game. Given the Kinect integration and the game's apparent flexibility, I asked executive producer Sax Persson if Team Dakota was considering implementing Kinect for gameplay control too. Sure enough, the studio is, and has explored the idea recently. "We expect over time that we're going to add that," said Persson, although he stipulated that mo-capping character animation was first priority. "When I saw the new Kinect and the specs for it, and got to try it the first time, for me it was obvious that I wanted to put myself in the game. You know, I wanted to be able to make movies with it. We tried to find what's the lowest barrier for entry for people to express themselves, right. Getting up and acting out a scene and making machinima has been a great avenue for people to express themselves for a long time." At Gamescom, Team Dakota announced Project Spark will enter its beta phase on Windows 8 in October, and then on Xbox One in January. That beta will help guide which new features, like Kinect gameplay, will come to the game. "Part of the reason why we're in beta is to hear what people want to make," said Persson. "If everybody tells us that we need to make it so I can play my Kinect games, then that's the next thing we do."
Fable Legends trades character creation for character definition
In the first three Fable games, the player's character has essentially been a blank slate, a hunk of marble waiting to be chiseled by player choices (and the occasional player mistake). It has always been up to the player to decide what their hero specialized in, to choose exactly how their hero looked and to govern their hero's morality. The character was yours from top to bottom. Fable Legends, just announced for the Xbox One, is taking a different approach. You'll still be able to customize your hero to a certain degree – at the barber shop, etc. – but Fable Legends ditches the blank slate of previous games for more defined characters. They all have unique voices, personalities and abilities. Yes, that means the sorceress you see in the video above will always be a sorceress. This more rigid character system is a fundamental change to the Fable formula, but the interesting part is it may not even be the most significant departure.
Ryse revised: How Crytek altered combat for the better
Many people really latched onto Ryse: Son of Rome's execution system when Crytek showed off the game at E3 earlier this year – but probably not in the way the developer wanted them to. Ryse's executions, which grant the player various in-game perks – and see protagonist Marius stabbing, gouging, slicing, bashing and otherwise maiming barbarians – are performed via short quick time events. Even though the majority of Ryse's combat has an ebb and flow similar to the Batman Arkham games – flurries of attacks sprinkled with timely parries – many prospective players, myself included, worried about the QTE-infused combat getting stale. Crytek has responded to those concerns, and the build of Ryse being shown at Gamescom has a significantly altered execution system. Gone are the garish button prompts. Instead, enemies are subtly highlighted with the color of the appropriate button: Yellow for the shield (Y) and blue for the sword (X). By watching Marius' animations and keeping an eye out for each color, I easily slipped into the rhythm of various executions, something I can't say about the E3 build I played in June. The E3 reaction didn't directly inspire the changes to the execution system, design director Patrick Esteves tells me, but it definitely played a part. "We were already down a course. We already knew where executions were going. And, of course, in game development, we have to figure out what's the best way to do something." "People don't like the idea of a QTE-based combat system. Thank God we're not a QTE-based combat system," says Esteves, alluding to the fact that there is more to Ryse's combat than people may have perceived from the E3 demo. Just as I did in June, players will eventually discover that the combat is more about a dance-like back-and-forth between Marius and foes than it is about executions. "That was the first thing," says Esteves, "and the second thing is, is the communication language good enough for the game?" Crytek decided it wasn't.
Why Age of Empires Online failed
Since the beginning of this year, Age of Empires Online has shifted into stagnation and decline -- and done so intentionally. So why did Microsoft Studios decide to all but abandon the future of this game? In short, the title launched with far too little content, a bad business model, and couldn't crank out the goods fast enough to retain an audience. This resulted in a sharp drop-off from 100,000 players to 15,000 in a few months. Executive Producer Kevin Perry criticized the game's launch at GDC Europe, pointing at its skimpy features (including only two civilizations at launch) and bad public perception: "You don't get a soft launch for a branded title. Players come there for your brand. You only get word-of-mouth once. Whenever we got new players, they always came in with the overhead, 'but I heard this game sucks.' That hill was extremely difficult to climb." Even after tinkering with the game's cost, adding in more content, and figuring out ways to allow players to spend more money, the company ultimately realized that the players were mostly demanding new content which couldn't be generated to make a profit. "The content itself was too expensive to create," Perry admitted. "We did do a lot of things right, but they weren't enough to actually save the game."
