When the first rumors of Xbox’s massive 3,200-role restructure started circulating weeks ago, just days after the Xbox Games Showcase, the Xbox community was awash with opinions on how Xbox should handle its lower-performing studios, and deserved criticism awaited the management that had allowed all of this mess to happen.
We’ve seen this play before: a spreadsheet-driven mega-corp consolidation normally means a beloved studio gets wiped off the map, and its intellectual property is discarded into a black hole, never to see the light of day again.
In a “best of a bad situation” twist, today Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has announced that in an effort to combat Microsoft’s losses of 64 cents for every dollar invested in these teams, Compulsion Games and Double Fine are going independent. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, on the other hand, will transition to new publishers.
No projects have been canceled (yet), no studio doors have been shuttered (yet). These studios now have a lifeline and a chance of survival outside the clutches and “14 layers of management” of Microsoft.
Following all this, I plead with the Xbox community: if you genuinely care about the survival of these studios beyond social media soliloquies, then it’s time to put our money where our mouths are and support them.
RELATED: Xbox’s big “reset” cuts: Compulsion, Double Fine, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory to leave Xbox — 3,200 roles to be removed
State of Decay 3 is not obligated to launch on Xbox Game Pass
Now, the true test of gaming consumers’ loyalty is coming sooner than you think. As we recently shared, State of Decay 3 is no longer obligated to launch on Xbox Game Pass under it’s new announced ownership terms. The same reality will likely apply to Ninja Theory’s future projects.
This will change the entire equation for the average Xbox consumer. For nearly a decade, Xbox gamers have been conditioned to treat first-party titles as perks of the monthly subscription and haven’t had to really weigh up the financials of each individual game purchase. Now this is a model I fully support, and it makes gaming so much more accessible for the majority, but clearly the math isn’t mathing enough for Xbox.
Undead Labs could now be stepping out into the competitive wild west if they choose not to launch on Xbox Game Pass. Not giving the audience a chance to try your multiplayer game before buying it is a huge gamble, but if enough people buy it at retail price, it could pay off.
Whether studios decide to launch on Game Pass or not, we as players need to step up.
Vote with your wallet
I want to be clear: this isn’t about virtue signaling in the way I see people do all the time about players choosing to use Xbox Game Pass as their main source of gaming entertainment. This is not a lecture. The current economic realities are brutal, and everyone should do what is best for their own budget.
Not every gamer has a disposable $70 (or whatever this game will cost) lying around to drop on a whim, and no one should feel guilty for protecting their own finances. That aside, my message is explicitly aimed at those who can afford it.
If you are a fan who spent the last year screaming on social media about corporate greed, demanding that Microsoft “let their studios cook,” you now have a real chance to support those studios. Buying these games at retail on day one, whether on Xbox, PC, or PlayStation, is the clearest way to send a message to the rest of the industry that the work these studios does matter. (Note: State of Decay 3 is currently on the Steam Most Wishlisted games list and has already surged by 1,977 additions this week.)
It proves that mid-sized and experimental games have a viable commercial audience outside the protective bubble of Xbox’s checkbook. Or, indeed, if nobody buys the games, it proves that Xbox ultimately made the right decision with these moves.
Xbox has made its new strategy crystal clear: they are slimming down their overly complex corporate structure, protecting their next-gen console hardware, and narrowing their focus to mega-franchises like Halo and Fallout. They want to be leaner, meaner and more profitable.
As for studios like Undead Labs and Ninja Theory, if we want these newly freed studios to flourish, we have to stop treating them like subscription padding and start treating them like creators worth paying for. If you can support them, you absolutely should.
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