Fergusson left The Coalition for Blizzard Entertainment in 2020, to bring Diablo 4 to term. Like Halo, Gears has been a big-name IP anchor for Xbox Game Pass since that service launched in 2017. The company handed the series to Black Tusk Studios, later renamed The Coalition, and hired industry heavy hitter Rod Fergusson to oversee a remaster of the first Gears of War, plus Gears of War 4 and Gears 5. Likewise an Xbox/Windows PC exclusive, Cliff Bleszinski’s Gears of War franchise was owned by Epic Games until Microsoft bought the property in early 2014. Microsoft acquired series creator Bungie in 2000, then created 343 Industries to take control of Halo after Bungie split from Microsoft and fulfilled its remaining obligations to the series. But if only for posterity’s sake, it’s worth pointing out the company owns and controls this blockbuster intellectual property, just as strong and relevant with the launch of Halo Infinite as it was when Halo: Combat Evolved debuted 20 years ago. The sci-fi shooter series has always been a Microsoft-owned, Xbox-exclusive franchise. Here are all the major franchises, developers, and names in games that Microsoft now controls. So help him, God, he’s made good on that. Pilloried at the beginning of the Xbox One console generation in 2013 for a supposedly wavering interest in video games, Microsoft soon vowed - under then-new head of Xbox Phil Spencer - that it would adopt a renewed, diamond-hard focus on the games, the good games, and nothing but the games. Since 2014, when Redmond shook $2.5 billion from its piggy bank to acquire Mojang and Minecraft, the company has been on an escalating buying spree that has brought a who’s-who directory of AAA gaming to its Xbox Game Pass library, now 25 million subscribers strong. Sony still stands apart with its strong stable of PlayStation exclusives, while Electronic Arts, Take-Two, and Ubisoft continue to jockey for position across all platforms.īut it’s damn close to everything. Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard doesn’t give the maker of Xbox and the home of Halo control of everything significant in console gaming.
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