Microsoft has never had as many internal studios as Sony or Nintendo, and that has prevented it from having many first-party exclusives this generation. But the Xbox company is working to change that coming out of the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles where it revealed it has five new studios making exclusive Microsoft games.
As part of its pre-E3 media briefing, Microsoft boss Phil Spencer announced the creation of a new studio called The Initiative led by industry veteran Darrell Gallagher. He then followed up with revealing the Microsoft acquisitions of Ninja theory, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs. This bolsters the company’s first-party efforts, and Spencer said it is evidence of his dedication to Xbox and its fans.
Ninja Theory is best known for producing 2017’s breakout indie hit Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Playground has long overseen the Forza Horizon series for Microsoft. Compulsion is responsible for We Happy Few. Undead Labs created State of Decay.
Microsoft will use these developers to fill out its library of exclusives on Xbox One and — perhaps more importantly — its Xbox Game Pass library. Subscriptions to that service are already growing, and now, the company is giving fans even more reasons to keep an active membership.