Microsoft has established itself as the company that is constantly looking for new video game developers to add to the already impressive list of first-party studios. These past couple of years have shown how dedicated it is to strengthen its software catalogue, and they don’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
In fact, rumours are floating around claiming that E3 2021 will be a lot more interesting than Xbox fans previously thought. In the wake of the pandemic, it’s no wonder that gaming companies have been struggling just as much as all the other industries, especially those heavily involved in technology.
Senior Editor at Windows Central Jez Corden has “very good” information regarding the upcoming E3 2021 showcase. There is a good chance that Microsoft will announce a new acquisition, and fans are excited to learn which company will be joining the roster or recent additions, as are we. While this is just a rumour at the moment, it’s still cool to guess which companies are being talked about for the subsequent acquisition of Microsoft.
For now, we can look at some of the companies that have been acquired by the gaming and tech giant to appreciate the tornado of acquisitions that have decorated our Xbox Game Pass interface.
Bethesda game studios
This acquisition happened in 2021, and it is arguably the biggest one that Microsoft was able to clear for their console owners. Playing some of the most popular games released this past decade for free on Game Pass is fun. I guess it’s technically not free since you’re paying monthly, but the value is easily recognisable.
By acquiring them, they have snagged one of the top video game companies in the world. Bethesda brought us Fallout (the most notable Fallout 76 and Fallout New Vegas games), and The Elder scrolls franchises and the recent ESO online that you can buy by looking up the cheapest ESO key, and they are developing a new IP for Xbox fans called Starfield. Anything coming from Bethesda is destined to be successful based on its past releases.
Compulsion games
Compulsion Games have released two games since it was founded in 2009. However, Contrast and We Happy Few are two titles that have been highly respected in the gaming community. While they both have opposite styles of play and graphics, they still can engage players in ways that many other smaller studios are not able.
We are definitely looking forward to their next launch. Unfortunately, Compulsion Games have not revealed what they are working on at the moment. The bright side is that with Microsoft backing their efforts (if that’s how these acquisitions work), they should have no problem procuring the necessary resources to ensure their jobs are ten times easier.
Double fine productions
E3 2021 is going to be an exciting showcase for publishers and gaming companies. Much data support that it won’t be as exciting as past E3’s. However, there are still some anticipated titles to be announced on Microsoft’s list. For example, Psychonauts developers have announced that they are developing a sequel, and Microsoft stated that they would be showcasing during the E3 2021 event.
Double Fine Productions is known for making games that will inevitably become a cult classic. Their games aren’t as popular as some of the mainstream titles, but that’s because they always make their games the way they want to make games. They work hard to develop new and fresh experiences compared to titles the gaming community is most familiar. Double Fine Productions will spare no expense with Psychonauts 2, and we are looking forward to wrapping our brains around this title when it drops (hopefully this year).
Id software
Oh, Doom: the legendary game that encapsulated the benefits of 3D and first-person mechanics in video games. Its goofy presentation of a guy shooting a gun from the middle of his chest is charming. The later iterations of the game did a fantastic job of capturing the carnage and chaos the original game was trying to capture as best it could on its 8-bit graphics and audio.
id Software is as legendary as the game they’ve created, and Microsoft did a smart thing acquiring this development studio. We don’t know what games will follow Doom Eternal, but we are sure this acquisition didn’t come without some bloody, gory promises from the heads of id Software.
Machine games
Microsoft also acquired Machine games, the studio that developed the latest iterations of the Wolfenstein games. They also created New Colossus, which was a masterpiece appreciated by many in the gaming community. It seems like they are working on an Indian Jones video game, so we are excited to see some of their flare crossover with a classic movie figure like him.
Machine games was created back in 2009, and members of Starbreeze Studios filled their starting staff. Also, that Indiana Jones game they are working on actually collaborating with the highly acclaimed Bethesda studios. There is no way this game won’t be good with powerful resources coming from both Bethesda and Microsoft. We are excited to see the gameplay of this game, but there is no telling when that will be. At the time of making this post, there have not been any updates about the game itself.
Mojang studios
If you don’t know what Mojang Studios, it’s because sometimes a game can become so massive that no one cares. These are the people who have brought us Minecraft, and many people don’t even know that. In fact, we honestly didn’t even know that until doing this post. It’s a bit shameful, but please do not assume that it’s our fault.
Minecraft is so incredibly successful that we aren’t surprised that the developers haven’t made another franchise yet. At the moment, they have only been updating Minecraft by increasing quality of life and dropping massive updates for loyal fans to enjoy. They’ve dropped Minecraft Dungeons for people who could care less about creating their own worlds, but it seems not to be as interesting as the original since the player base for that is nowhere as large.
What studio acquisitions did we leave out
If you can think of an acquisition that you believe is more notable than these, let us know in the comments below. Also, some of these studios created games that take a lot of grinding and time for you to really enjoy. It would be nice to have someone help you boost your character or farm items and gold for your account.
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