Microsoft Acquires 4 Game Studios, Creates ‘The Initiative’ to Develop More Titles In-House

Jun. 11, 2018

At itsXbox E3 press conferenceon Sunday, Microsoft’s Xbox head, Phil Spencer,announcedthat the company has acquired a number of game studios, including Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Undead Labs and Compulsion Games. He also announced the creation of a new studio called ‘The Initiative’, which will be led by the former head of studio at Crystal Dynamics, Darrell Gallagher.

Taking a look at some of the companies acquired by Microsoft, Playground Games is the studio behind the popular Forza Horizon racing series and has been a long-time Xbox partner. Ninja Theory has developed several popular titles, such as Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, DmC, Enslaved and Heavenly Sword, while Undead Labs is the developers of the State of Decay franchise. As for Compulsion, it is currently working on We Happy Few that will be launched later this year.

The latest announcement seems to be in line with the company’s plans to focus on creating a richer and more diverse gaming library for Windows and Xbox. In aninterview with Bloomberglast year, Xbox chief Phil Spencer had revealed that the company is looking to develop more games and software in-house, either by growing organically or through acquisitions.

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