Is Microsoft buying our souls?

War of the planet of the game studios.

I find that often it's quite easy to forget exactly who you're dealing with when talking about a company like Microsoft, particularly in relation to their gaming efforts. We tend to think of the game development world as one of might ruling all, where the guys with the biggest stick make the biggest splash and if a game couldn't be as big as they wanted to be, rarely is it a failure of vision and more often a lacking in resources. It's a misguiding assumption to maintain, but it's there. Thus, when we see Sony secure all the most desirable games, rule the last generation, poise themselves to rule the next, and watch Microsoft stumble behind them; the perception is developed of Microsoft being the bumbling uncle, devoid of edge and power, simply stumbling around the industry making their consoles and ever trailing behind the much-bigger Sony. And then they went and bought Bethesda.

That was a moment, I think, which opened a lot of people's eyes again to just who Microsoft is behind the curtain. They're not just a video game company, they're one of the biggest and well-connected companies in the entire world today. They are the biggest of the computer-centric tech giants in the world and they have the weight to throw themselves around if they so choose, honestly quite a bit more so than Sony does. So whilst that does reveal how the community has undersold them over the past 8 years, it does also reveal a lack of either vision or willingness seeing as how they've been meandering behind Sony substantially across the previous console generation, with the only smart idea to claw some ground back being Game Pass. Though to be fair, Game Pass is certainly the sort of idea that really needed to take off to be worth it to them, and Mircosoft was probably the only company with the sort of safety net to risk such a thing. (That or Google, but Stadia showed us Google have absolutely no tolerance with taking risks in the gaming world whatsoever. Nor do they have a tolerance for researching the gaming world.)

But now this puts us all in a position of curiosity as these two super-power gaming companies control the purse strings to really cut up the game development world between the two of them, and as a consumer I really don't know how I feel about it. On one hand I love the idea of these companies getting more capital and resources behind them to really expand their games to being as good as they can be. Yet on the otherhand I worry about the effects of bringing all these great studios under the same header. Will that end up homogenising the AAA landscape even more than plain trends already do? We've seen how the several talented teams under Ubisoft seem almost unable of making anything even remotely unique due to having to pitch to the same rigid yes-men as their peers. Might the same befall Microsoft and Sony's pen of talented studios? Already Sony is getting a reputation for making high-quality single player focused titles from their partner studios (which is ideal for someone with my sensibilities) but what about the huge multiplayer crowd out there? Will they never get the Sony-funded treatment? Perhaps I'm jumping at shadows with this train of thought, but only time will tell.

From the developers angle, however, I can only assume this is all exciting stuff. Literal billions of dollars being shipped around the industry like it's candy? Oh you best believe that's going to get some folk blushing. And if being part of a 'team' opens up the ability of collaborating with some of the best out there, that can only be another promising plus. Fans have already whipped up a frenzy over the mere possibility of Bethesda and Obsidian collaborating now that they're both under Microsoft, imagine how that excitement is for those in these companies. Artistic development is a tricky field no matter what that medium you travel, and reaching out to work alongside others can be daunting when you've no idea how such a relationship might pan out, but when you've already got that assurance that you are both working for the same side, that really does open up a world to you. And so I must ask, are Microsoft next planning to buy our souls, or specifically our childhood's souls, away from us? 

I ask this supremely hyperbolic question because of an old rumour which as recently pulled up traction ever since the Bethesda and Microsoft deal was finalised. (As though that was ever up for debate.) Is Sega the next company due to be bought by the big M? Wait- no, not McDonald's. That would be weird. I mean Microsoft. It makes some sense, even if you might have to squint between the lines to really see it. On one hand, you have the Japanese giant in Sony who have zipped around securing a lot of talented studios, including a lot of high-profile exclusivities in the popular Japanese market which I will never forgive them for. (Where is my Persona 5 on PC, damn it!) I've seen so many great-looking games from that end of the world completely sail past the Microsoft crowd and keep wondering if the higher-ups were seeing that too, or if they just decided such games weren't for them. (Even as those sorts of games have become more popular) But what if they've just been biding their time to start shooting for the biggest Japanese games companies, such as Sega?

Now bear in mind that we're talking about the rumour mill here, nothing official has stirred and there's even been a very similar rumour that rose up around about the tail-end of last year which was vehemently shot down; but one must wonder. First of all, if there is a deal in the works then it hardly needs to be discussed in the public, so I don't take the denials as tacit proof such a deal will never happen. Secondly, Microsoft and Sega have been curiously close as of late, haven't they? Afterall, the first worldwide release of Sega's Yakuza series in several years hit itself as a launch exclusive for Microsoft in the new gen, demonstrating a willingness to work together. Then there's the history of Microsoft once being in the position to buy Sega but turning it down. It's nowhere near a smoking gun, but it's something.

Of course, in even mentioning such a concept it would be disingenuous not to mention that this particular rumour is one that actually goes back a ways. Every couple years or so it seems someone raises the possibility of an acquisition and time passed or statements issued have to pour water on the idea. But that's only because it's an idea that makes sense, and it becoming more and more likely as we enter into this period of 'studio ownership' wars that the industry appears to be trending towards. Sega, in fact, have spurred some of these rumours on their own through some 'restructuring' efforts that look to be a prelude to a big shake up. Signs appear to be pointing to something, the only question is whether or not it's where everyone's been looking or if there's a bit too much confirmation bias floating around. (Personally I think it could go either way. But seeing Sega get bought out just doesn't compute with me understanding of the gaming landscape just yet.)

Ultimately the point of this blog isn't to point out the possibility of Sega getting bought, nor the viability of Microsoft as a mega-studio boss. I want to ask if this is the sort of future for the industry that we should be encouraging. Is there merit in this potential for mass industry consolidation, a potential for mass improvement and reform across the deck, or are we looking at bloated giants of the old guard flexing their muscles to the detriment of us all? As one who tend to err towards his heart, I have to say that I think it's a mistake for the AAA market to swallow itself up like this, as I have always supported diversity and think that competition only ever serves to make us stronger. But I'm just an idiot on the Internet, so maybe there's a greater side to all this that I'm too stubborn or dense to open myself up to. Where do you fall on the matter, and do you wonder if Sony have already spread themselves too thin as it is, or that Microsoft is on that path? And finally, most crucially, if you had the weight and power of Microsoft, what would you do to benefit the game's industry, if anything at all?