Last September, Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media - Bethesda's parent company - shook the plug. Although the acquisition is not yet complete, as the paperwork is set to end by the beginning of the following year, Xbox Game Studios has included a large segment of creative studios.
In this article, we review together with a glimpse of current Xbox Game Studios in the wake of this massive acquisition.
Xbox Game Studios
343 Industries
After Bungie split from Microsoft, Studio 343 Industries took over the development of their flagship first-person shooter series “Halo”. Indeed, to date, the studio has launched Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
The team is currently working on the Halo Infinite game, which will be launched for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S one day next year, in addition to its availability on the PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Game Pass.
Alpha Dog Games
It is a smartphone game development studio acquired by Bethesda Softworks in October last year. This studio previously developed Wraithborne and MonstroCity: Rampage.
We don't know about his future projects yet.
Arkane Studios
A subsidiary of Bethesda Studios, it is headquartered in France. The studio is known for its great Immersive Sim games, similar to Dishonored and Prey.
The team is currently working on Deathloop, which is ironically a temporary PS5 exclusive. Microsoft has confirmed that it will respect this exclusive agreement, and will honor Playstation players in some way - although it has not made clear how it will do so.
The Coalition
The studio responsible for developing the Gears of War series, also owned by the tech giant. This team developed Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5 games.
It's not clear if the team is working on the sixth installment of this popular third-person shooter series or not - but it's highly likely, especially with the launch of the new generation Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S by Micro.
Compulsion Games
It is a Canadian studio, which includes a number of former Arkane Studios developers, which has developed well-known games such as Contrast and We Happy Few.
The team is currently working on a new project but has not revealed details about it yet.
Bethesda Game Studios
A studio that has well known, it has been the primary player in The Elder Scrolls franchise since 2002 when it launched The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. He's also been in charge of the Fallout franchise since its 2008 third installment. The studio's latest production, Fallout 76, fell short of expectations.
Currently, we know that the studio is working on two games: Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, both of which are out of reach, and we may not see them until many years later.
Double Fine Productions
This studio is known for publishing and developing games alike, but after Microsoft acquired it and joined it to Xbox Game Studios - it closed its publishing sector and focused on developing games only.
This team is currently working on Psychonauts 2, which will be released on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Game Pass.
id Software
Introducing Rich Developer is also the one responsible for the DOOM, Rage, Wolfenstein, and Quake series. This studio adds massive first-person shooter power to the Xbox Game Studios teams.
This team recently launched Doom Eternal on PC, PS4, and Xbox One and is expected to arrive at a later time on the Nintendo Switch as well. As for his future projects, there are no official announcements yet.
The Initiative
Walid studio, no official details, oh God, but it attracted and attracts a wide range of talents in the gaming industry. Reports and leaks indicate that he is working on a massive single-player story game, similar to Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us owned by rival Playstation.
inXile Entertainment
This studio makes a powerful addition to RPG games within Xbox Game Studios. After the successful launch of Wasteland 2 and Wasteland 3, the team announced that their next project will be based on Unreal Engine 5.
But as far as that project is concerned, it will take some time for it to be officially unveiled.
MachineGames
In cooperation with Bethesda Studios, this studio contributed to the development of Wolfenstein series games starting in 2014 with Wolfenstein: The New Order and then launched Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus three years later. This team was also responsible for the games The Old Blood and Youngblood, both released in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
Currently, the team has not revealed what its next project will be under the Xbox Game Studios banner.
Ninja Theory
It is a British studio that provided an unforgettable experience with Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and launched Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. His latest production was the Bleeding Edge PvP Brawl game.
The team is currently working on Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, which will be available exclusively on Xbox Series and PC. And there's also Project: Mara which, as the studio says, is going to deliver an awesome horror experience - but we don't have much more detail right now.
Mojang Studios
The famous studio behind Minecraft. The studio launched the Minecraft Dungeons earlier this year as well.
The team is currently working on additional content for Minecraft Dungeons and support for virtual reality technology. We do not know if Minecraft will be available on the next devices or not until now.
Obsidian Entertainment
This studio is the standard-bearer of RPG games and the true leader of this genre within the Xbox Game Studios teams. The studio has previously released blockbusters such as Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity.
The team is currently working on Avowed, which will be released on Xbox Series and PC.
Playground Games
It is the studio responsible for the Forza Horizon series for nearly eight years, and its latest installment is Forza Horizon 4 in 2018, which will also land on the Xbox Series with updated versions.
This team is currently working on Fable, the fourth part of Microsoft's popular series. In fact, this part is considered as a new beginning of the series (Reboot), especially since its latest release dates back to 2010.
Rare
This team has a wide range of fun games, including Sea of Thieves and Battletoads, which recently had more than a million global players.
The team is currently working on a new adventure game called Everwild, which will be released on Xbox One, PC, and likely Xbox Series as well.
Roundhouse Studios
In the wake of the closure of Human Head Studios in November 2019, Bethesda fully hired the team and opened this studio. This team is known thanks to the original 2006 game Prey and The Quiet Man, which launched in 2018.
The team is currently working on two projects, which have yet to be announced.
Tango Gameworks
This studio was founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and is responsible for their likenesses, The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2, of course.
The team is currently working on Ghostwire Tokyo which is also a temporary exclusive title for PS5, bringing it in the same boat as the Deathloop.
Undead Labs
The games of this studio express their name, and indeed, the team dedicates itself to working on zombie and survival games, such as the State of Decay and State of Decay 2. It does not seem that it intends to change its skin anytime soon, as it has already announced its work on the third part of the same series For Xbox Series and PC.
World’s Edge
This studio was founded last year to specifically work on the Age of Empires franchise. The team is currently working on Age of Empires IV which will see the light at a later, unannounced time.
ZeniMax Online Studios
It is the studio primarily responsible for the development of The Elder Scrolls Online and the support of Bethesda Game Studios in the development of Fallout 76.
And the latest productions of this team was the game Commander Keen on smartphones. And we don't know anything about his future games at the moment.
Turn 10 Studios
He is the studio behind the Forza Motorsport series since 2005.
The team is currently working on a new game in the famous racing series, which will be named "Forza Motorsport" only, and is considered the eighth part in the series, and you will see the light on the PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
