Microsoft has done a ton of work to help bolster its first party line-up over the course of this year. At E3 2018 they announced the purchase of Ninja Theory (Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Compulsion Games (We Happy Few) and Undead Labs (State of Decay). At the same time Phil Spencer also announced the creation of a brand new studio called The Initiative. Since its announcement, The Initiative has already amassed a growing list of industry talent including Brian Westergaard, Lead Producer on God of War, Christian Cantamessa, Lead Writer on Red Dead Redemption, Daniel Neuburger, Director of the Tomb Raider 2013 reboot, among others.
Microsoft’s acquisitions didn’t stop there with the announcement of Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas/South Park: The Stick of Truth) and InXile Entertainment (Wasteland 2) also being acquired at the recent X018 fan fest. The gains for the Xbox brand don’t stop there as It now looks like another high profile name has joined The Initiative! Drew Murray, Director of Sunset Overdrive, has announced on his personal Twitter account about the move to Microsoft’s new studio. Besides Sunset Overdrive, Murray has also worked on many Insomniac titles including Resistance and Ratchet and Clank.
The Initiative is shaping up to be quite a powerhouse studio with a ton of talent. What do you think of this latest news on The Initiative and Microsoft’s other studio acquisitions?
