Xbox Boss has seen upcoming Ninja Theory, Rare, Playground Projects

"I’ve seen what Ninja Theory’s working on next and what their pipeline looks like. I saw what Playground’s working on next, I saw what Rare is working on next and their continued growth and success with Sea of Thieves.

"The real goal with the studios for me is to get a large enough studio base where we can delight and surprise ourselves and our fans with games, and it’s on a regular cadence, so we’re not always pinched to say ‘okay, well what can we announce?’

[gangsta_red]

"I’ve seen what Ninja Theory’s working on next and what their pipeline looks like... I saw what Playground’s working on next, I saw what Rare is working on next and their continued growth and success with Sea of Thieves."

There were rumors that Rare was also working on another game besides SoT. Should be interesting if that's true. NT has been quiet since they released Senua's sacrifice which was in 2017, no doubt they will have something new to show and maybe even a release date sooner rather than later. And of course Playground has been rumored to be on Fable for a good minute, I bet they'll have something to also show off at E3.

Those three studios will likely have something, maybe even Compulsion may have something else to show since We Happy Few came....and went.

[TK-55]

I'm most interested in Playground's next project (on the condition it's not another Forza title) since it'll really determine just how good the studio is. They've done brilliant work on the Horizon series and I believe their next project is going to be an open world game which has led to people believing its a Fable game. Personally I hope its a new IP because I think Fable has always been overrated but I think they'd do a better job with the series than Lionhead.

[shiva1]

Of these two studios who should do Fable? Playground or Rare?

I believe its safe to say either is fine.

[TK-55]

@shiva1

I think I'd have the same opinion with Rare in that I'd rather they be working on something completely new. But if I'm forced I think I'd rather see Playground make it. Would love to see the seasonal changes in Forza implemented in a Fable game!

[KillBill]

Playground has already had the rumor their next title is not in fact a driving game.

[Razzer]

"Of these two studios who should do Fable? Playground or Rare? "

Playground. Pretty sure they are. We know they are making an open world RPG.

[coolbeans]

There's been rumors Rare has 3 projects going on (SoT updates being one of them). NT's rumored game is supposed to be called Bleeding Edge (may not be final name).

"... maybe even Compulsion may have something else to show since We Happy Few came....and went."

Nah. They're still dedicated to updating that to get past the buggy launch.

[King_Noctis]

“Compulsion Games promises to continue making ‘crazy games’ following Microsoft acquisition”

https://www.polygon.com/e3/...

I think they have new projects in mind, since the acquisition by MS might mean their team has expanded as well.

[Automatic79]

@gangsta_red

Besides
Ninja Theory
Rare
Playground Games

We also get to see
The Coalition-Gears 5
343-Halo Infinite
MS Global Publishing -New IP
Plus a few surprises.

[Obscure_Observer]

@gangsta_red

"There were rumors that Rare was also working on another game besides SoT. Should be interesting if that's true."

RARE working on a new IP was never a rumor. It was confirmed last year at E3 by Craig Duncan himself.

https://www.gamereactor.eu/...

:)

[lxeasy]

@obscure I don't know if I'm more excited for Ninja Theory or Playgrounds new game. Who are you most excited for?

[Obscure_Observer]

@lxeasy

It´s a hard question. I´m excited about both of Playground and Ninja Theory´s new game. I think that i´m a bit more excited about Playground´s new game because the RPG genre is new to them.

I was thinking they were working on a new Fable game. Now, i think they´re working on a new IP. :)

https://n4g.com/news/221886...

[King_Noctis]

Isn’t Rare working on Battletoad? Or maybe they have multiple projects going at once.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Dlala Studios is the main developer of Battetoads (2019), Rare is still involved in the game though.

[Jin_Sakai]

“Xbox Boss has seen upcoming Ninja Theory, Rare, Playground Projects“

Hopefully we’ll see what you’ve seen come E3. I’m excited to see what Playground Games have been working on.

[lxeasy]

I'm really excited to see what Ninja Theory and Playground game are going to reveal. I think the next Rare game will be really good because I think they wont commit the same mistakes from SOT launch on there new game.

[tontontam0]

We'll see it get cancelled just like other games, then ms will just stick to halo forza gears all pver again.

[beulahland]

We'll see it get canczzzzZZzzzZZZROOOOONC!

NEXT!

[SquillieDeeWilliams]

yaaaawwwwn

[jmetalhead77812]

Nothing funnier than a tired outplayed joke that was never funny to begin with. Try coming up with an original thought. If that’s not possible for you, maybe try something that’s actually funny or clever.

[lxeasy]

@tontontm0 we all know you would like to see that since you are one of Xbox biggest haters. But sad news for you. There first party studios will only grow and there exclusives will keep getting better. Cheers mate :)

[rainslacker]

Playground I'm most interested in, since they said it was an new IP in RPG genre. I hope that's still what they're working on.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

So whats this bs I keep hearing about Phil Spencer needing to get fired?

Turns the hardware of the original X1 around from a terrible launch and perception.
Fix the issues with Xbox Live and added gaming services. Added BC when the other boss would not of done so.
7 new studios under their belt all within the same year. With rumors of a few more.

N4G logic. Hes a terrible boss...

Lets make one thing clear Don Mattrick wouldnt have done anything of those things. He saw the backlash with Adam Orth 2 months prior to the X1 reveal didn't listen.
Rumors of tv and media talk at the X1 reveal, which also garnered backlash didn't Listen.
Drm not flippin a switch didn't until after he quit lol.
Most importantly, if he didnt do anything about lack of games, studios AAA output in 7th gen what makes you think he would do anything about it now??? He would of done the same old thing. Halo would be released every other year with little breathing room for change and would have gotten worse, Rare would still be tied down Kinect (yes Kinect would be a thing) the same ol tone def Mattrick. I ask again who is worse?

Btw it seems MS projects are coming along quicker than I thought.

[I_am_Batman]

Some people don't seem to understand that there is a time delay between cause and effect in the games industry. I think if you look at where Xbox was 6 years ago and where it s now it's clear that Phil has done a lot of work. On the other hand MS hyped him up too much early on and he might've tried to turn the ship too fast. I can definetily understand the disappointment of Xbox fans after the cancellation of titles like Scalebound, the Phantom Dust remake, Project Spark and Fable Legends with the closure of Lionhead studios that is associated with it.

Phil might be the right guy to save Xbox but there is no way around the fact that this generation was a disappointment. The trajectory looks good though and I think that he has a chance to make next gen much more interesting and win some Xbox fans back. We'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds.

[bluefox755]

Better? We're at the end of the gen, and Xbox still has almost nothing to show for it. I'm not saying Spencer deserves all of the blame, but pretending like he "turned things around" is laughable.

[I_am_Batman]

@bluefox: Are you responding to some hypothetical comment I've never made? I'm somewhat confused.

[rainslacker]

People understand there is a delay. But you can't use this argument that it takes time, when it's the same damn argument that was used three years ago when apparently Spencer started investing all this money into making games.

We know it takes time. Even if we still say they need to bring games, it's not because we don't recognize it doesn't take time, it's that we aren't here to wait on a whim of MS to get something for our support of their system or services. It's because we want products to play. Not promises. The promises come up emptier, the more they make them, and when another year passes where we hear, "it takes some time", we already know. Which is why this stuff should have been done years ago.

It isn't on the customer to wait for MS to get it's shit together for us to support them. It's on MS to give us support, so we want to support them. Many Xbox fan boys have their role as consumers mixed up. At the start of a gen, sure, give them some time, we're early adopters, so it's kind of expected and we know what we're getting into. But after year three and your output becomes one big AAA game a year, sometimes with it being a yearly franchise release? That's not right for a console maker.

it's not like Spencer just took over a few months ago, or even a year ago. It's not like he didn't have authority to do stuff. Hell, remember when Nadella took over, and said how much he was behind Xbox and gaming? But it took how many years for them to do what they should have been doing back then? I know it can take some time to procure studios, but it doesn't take years. A studio acquisition can take 3-6 months. Not 3-5 years. NetEase just acquired partial ownership of QD in what was probably less than 3 months.

I think Phil has done a lot of work. It's just the focus of what he's working on hasn't been prioritized correctly. And ultimately, they make it sound like they're doing all this good stuff, but not mentioning that they aren't going to deliver anytime soon, except on the rare occassion where he tries to appear humble and pander to the community as if he's hearing them. Plus, all that other stuff shouldn't have been the crux of what they were working on, but supplemental to doing what should have been done from day one.

There was a way around the gen being a disappointment. It would have been for Phil to keep that fire for producing games that he seemed to come into the head of XBox with. About all he's done with fire, is create smoke and hype, and the fire to produce games seemed to have been put on the warming burner....which they just recently realized wasn't even turned on.

[lxeasy]

@angeliclcediamond you are 100% correct. Phill Spencer is a way better boss than don mattrick.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

I troll xbox pretty hard, unashamedly too - but I can honestly say I've never seen anyone call for Lucky Phil to be sacked. At least not to the extent your inferring.

[Obscure_Observer]

@xX-oldboy-Xx

Then you haven´t been paying attention. Phil Spencer made some venemous enemies on N4G. Most of them don´t even own an Xbox One.

[Cmv38]

I agree old boy, all I see are people who aren't xbox fans laughing at how phil acts and carries himself. He saved nothing.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Obscure_Observer - That's a tad OTT, but he isn't the 2nd coming like xbox owners on N4G make him out to be. This gen has been a disaster regardless where you want to lay the blame.

And, I still don't see 'this bs I keep hearing about Phil Spencer needing to get fired' - especially PS fans. That's what I was replying to.

They should sack Larry Hryb and Aaron Greenberg before anyone. Both lack any class,

[rainslacker]

I've never seen any concerted effort to say he should be fired. I criticize his actions mostly because I feel he panders more than he produces, but I don't think he's doing a terrible job. I just think he isn't prioritizing things correctly, as studio acquisitions shouldn't have taken this long, and they weren't necessary to produce games, which could have been done through 2nd party if they actually care before about delivering games.

I'm not going to pat him on the back because after years of being told what he has to do, he finally starts doing it, especially when there won't be any immediate results from it. Every time I see Spencers name, or one of these articles, I'm just reminded how gullible I was for believing he actually wanted to do anything with the X1. All these years later, after he convinced me that maybe Xbox could be great, and I have a $350 box under my TV which doesn't have enough from them to make me turn it on. I'm not going to pay $500 to get the best version of games, and since I have a PS4P, there is no point me buying multi-plats on the system. That leaves 1st/2nd party games, which MS is pretty much not even trying to release with any fervor.

But then you have Phil tweeting or giving interviews, or the media acting like MS is going to kill it next gen, and it angers me, because all I see is a guy who panders, and does nothing but promote the brand far beyond what it's worth, when all I can ask is, "OK, but what about the past three years or the rest of this gen?" I supported MS after Phil took over. They're the ones that failed me, not the other way around.

[rainslacker]

Don Mattrick had things going when this gen released. So, who's to say if he would have kept going. Nadella had more of an impact on Xbox moving towards service than Spencer did. He set forth the path, Spencer found ways to work it into Xbox.

it's great that he's now getting around to doing stuff. But it's coming pretty late in the gen. I guess it's good for next gen, but what about THIS GEN is so amazing about his performance that makes him worthy of respect?

MS, and Spencer have pretty much made clear that this gen is a bust, and they're going to be better next gen. While that's all good and fine, it doesn't remove the piss poor management that they've done up to this point, and all the moves they are making now, still don't bring games to this gen's console.

Maybe you're happy with their output for the past three years, and that's fine, but I have higher standards for a console maker when it comes to games they release. So far, MS has done next to nothing to make my X1 purchase worthwhile. A few good games to play, most of them from early in the gen, haven't made spending $350 on an Xbox worth it. Them moving on to new hardware hasn't made it worth it. BC isn't worth it, because I don't own that many Xbox games, and the ones I do own, aren't on the program, and theres no point buying them digitally because I probably have them in my rather extensive PS3 collection.

You can say Mattrick didn't do anything. And yes, he wasn't all that great either, but he had games lined up for X1 for the first several years, and its safe to assume he would have kept doing that....especially after his pet kinect project failed. But Spencer hasn't done what you say Mattrick wouldn't have done, because if Sony was decimating MS market share on Xbox with him in charge, he would recognize what needed to be done. A few years at the end of 360's life where people said he needed more games, isn't the same as a whole gen, where you are close to being dead last in market share, and the higher ups would certainly have their say. Plus, I think Mattrick probably would have been better suited for figuring out what was needed to push this services thing that they making Phil do.

So, who is worse? They're both bad. But as time has passed, I actually think Mattrick is the lesser of two evils, because at least he wasn't a snake oil sales man. He was easy enough to see through, while Spencer has you wrapped around his finger, and losing all of your common sense, while you welcome a future of GaaS, while you pay monthly for the privilege.

[Team_Litt]

This does put a smile on my face. I'm really glad MS did not pull the plug on Xbox even when they had every reason to this gen.
I'm glad they committed to turning things around instead of just cutting their loses.

The failure of the Xbox One gave rise to the Xbox One S/X, backwards compatibility, game pass and 7 new studios. All fantastic for us the consumers/gamers.

Job well done Phil. Keep at it.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Exciting that Phil is checking on his studios

[jznrpg]

Lol

[AK91]

I only care about whatever NT is working on.

[King_Noctis]

That is not fair to other devs such as Playground and Obsidian. Those devs are just as great if not better than NT.

[jznrpg]

Sure it is . Not everyone cares what NT is doing and that is fair . Is the entire world suppose to care what you are doing or is it not fair

[Razzer]

Not being fair? lol

[King_Noctis]

Awesome. Can’t wait for next week’s Inside Xbox. There might be announcements regarding this.

[Razmiran]

Yeah, two new controllers and a new faceplate

[King_Noctis]

I think that's what you wish would happen, cos that would give people like you more reasons to sh*t on them.

[beulahland]

It's a videocast, kid, not an E3 keynote.
Now, time to do homework, child!

[Fist4achin]

Finally good things to come for xbox! I cant wait to see whats in store.

[SpineSaw]

This is funny because we know that the Xbox Bosses are not the best judge of games that they see before the public sees them. Phil Spencer has to be the very worst judge of upcoming games ever. No offense to him but his track record based off the games Xbox has released with Phil Spencer as head of Xbox speaks for itself. But, that's my opinion because some of the must have system sellers that Microsoft Studios has released this gen may just scratch someones itch.

[rainslacker]

What do you expect him to say though? He saw the game and it sucked?

No company exec is going to be the most reliable source for that kind of thing. Stuff like this is just to say these companies are working on something.

This guy talked about seeing CD3 a while back, when they had nothing else to talk about. We saw how that turned out. Same with SoT, which released rather lackluster in content and game play. But he talked that up. At least the devs were more open with that game though.

Honestly though, of course he's seen what they're working on. He's the freaking head of Xbox. He's probably seen it before he acquired the two studios, and may have been the one that approved whatever Rare is working on. If he hadn't seen them, then that'd be concerning. This is almost not even news.

[Samonuske]

Anticipating Ninja Theories release should be dope!

[lazyboyblue]

Well I would hope he has.

[jznrpg]

Right?

[HighPlayer28]

I wish Phil and the Xbox team future success. I believe Xbox will return to its former glory.

[Imortus_san]

Hopefully Ninja Theory next game wont be nothing like DMC or Hellblade, since I have only liked 2 games from Ninja Theory, that's Kung Fu Chaos and Enslaved, so I hope it's something on that record, or a 3 person shooter, because everything else they have done is absolute garbage to me.

[jznrpg]

I love Enslaved . Too bad MS owns them . If they make a sequel it will be probably mp or online only epidsodic game to drive their Netflix of gaming

[jivah]

Duh?

[Einhander1971]

Considering how much money Microsoft blew on buying Rare the results have been piss poor. Obviously Nintendo had more influence on what they produced than Rare did them selves.

[rainslacker]

Rare has made a considerable amount of money for MS though. Kinect Sports was a huge franchise, and all those avatars were probably selling. So, business wise, I'd say it's probably not a bad acquisition. I don't think Rare is worth as much as they were when MS brought them though.

[mch2011uk]

Well of course he fucking has. Stupid article really.

[Ratchet75]

I am still on the fence how the Xbox one Gen has been mishandled, so it's gonna take a lot of work from Microsoft to dissuade me to go for a playstation next Gen. I might get a xbox2 down the line if they do bring the
games.

[jznrpg]

No way I pick Xbox over a PS5 . Maybe in a few years get an xbox if they finally have more than a couple of games worth getting an Xbox as a side console but I can’t see them ever doing enough to get an Xbox instead of PS. They have stated what they want to become , a service . Pass

[rainslacker]

PS5 for me for sure. Unless Sony has a catastrophic screw up between now and then.

X2, no chance in hell. But MS can change my mind if they deliver games, and stop acting like they rule the market. Even their attitude now grates on me because they can't back it up with anything. so, I guess its more pronounced than it would normally be. More, and better games would remedy that, because MS can be cocky about all they want so long as they bring me games to play. That said, I won't buy an X2 early in the gen. They're obviosly going to front load the launch, and MS has a really bad habit of not continuing support for the long term. 2 gens in a row now. OGXbox I give them a pass on, since they supported it with software until NVidia forced their hand to release a new gen too early.

[jznrpg]

No shit

[Gustertote]

X-Boss ...

[frostypants]

The boss of Xbox has seen Xbox games that are in development? BIG NEWS. /s

[Pancit_Canton]

More low budget titles for the Gamepass. Microsoft goal for this year and upcoming gen. Low budget for maximum return.

[oneconsoleonly]

Can't remember when was the last time rare made a half decent game. Playground game is fable. NT is probably some hack and slash game. Their game do not sell much and I have feeling gamepass is the way most people are going to play these games.

[Imalwaysright]

I don't care about what Rare is doing but I can't wait to see what NT is doing and Playground's RPG. Hopefully we'll see their projects at E3.

[isarai]

Don't even own an XBox and still very eager to see what they're making

[vinniects]

Can Microsoft/rare please make another banjo kazooie 😡

[Thundercat77]

I hope those games don't turn out to be gamepass quality games. Look at Crackdown 3, another generic average game. Xbox needs not 2 or 3 heavy hitters, Xbox needs a constant stream of game after game.