Ranking Xbox Game Studios
***This article was created before Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard***
Ranking Microsoft Game Studios
There is no understating the importance of first party studios when discussing the best console around. During the PS4 and Xbox One generation, the argument was always that Sony had better first party titles and there was truly no counter for it. Sony just had a massive list of first party exclusives and was one of the main reasons that the PS4 went on to become one the best selling game consoles of all time with currently around 120 million.
Microsoft took their lumps and reevaluated where they stood and aimed their focus in other directions including many acquisitions, most notably ZeniMax Media, which included Bethesda and all of its subsidiaries. It also forced Microsoft to reconsider what the best method of attack was. Just like Nintendo pivoted away from competing on graphics after the GameCube couldn’t compete with the Xbox and PS2, Microsoft decided it would be best to diversify it’s strategy. Over the course of the generation Microsoft built the foundation for services that are paying dividends today including Game Pass and Project xCloud.
Already during this generation, the answer isn’t a simple as it was last generation which came down to who has better first party titles. According to the NPD Report for June 2021, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles led the month in dollar sales. This was the first time in a long time that the leader is sales hasn’t been the PS4 or the dominant Switch. Now that these services are established, it is time to see if all of Microsoft’s acquisition over the past five years is going to show a strong return on investment.
The thought occurred, we all know just how important first party studios are, but we don’t really have a rating scale for these studios. Sports are much easier, you can easily see someones batting average, or how many touchdowns or how many triple doubles, but when it comes to gaming it feels a little more in the grey area. It feels like studios are almost judged similar to popularity where it becomes more about what the most recent release was, as opposed to the overall track record of the studio.
When trying to figure out what studios to use, it felt best to leave the smaller studios out of the argument and focus only on higher profile, triple a studios that typically make blockbuster games or are at least feel like they are on the cusp on mainstream success.
For the second instalment of studio ratings we are only going to be focusing on Microsoft First Party Studios or as they are better known today, Xbox Game Studios.
How it works!
The first thing to figure out before trying to give these studios a rating based their games is to figure out what the criteria would be when determining what studios are applicable.
Rule 1: No one hit wonders! We are only going to be including studios with at least two games on their resume.
Rule 2: The studio needs to be fairly active, which means that only studios with at least two games over the past decade would be included.
Rule 3: There will be a recency bias. This means that the last effort means the most and carries more weight towards the studios final score. This will be achieved by multiplying the most recent release score by 1.1.
Finally a few other criteria worth mentioning: The games included can be multiple platform but must be console focused, meaning a studio like worlds edge that focuses on Age of Empires won’t be included. Plenty of studios fill the gaps and pay the bills with mobile games but for the sake of our rankings, mobile games will not be taken into account, no matter how good or bad. Lastly, many studios do collabs with other studios but only games that are wholly developed by the studio will be calculated.
Honorable Mentions
With all of their acquisitions over the past few years, Microsoft certainly has a large portfolio of studios operating under the Microsoft Game Studios Umbrella. For this reason, the list will only be focusing on the top five studios. However, there are plenty studios that at least deserve being mentioned as a critical for Microsoft moving forward.
First, you have the smaller studios that are not quite on the headline level that can lead a presentation but are still making some fantastic games and experiences including Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Tango and Undead Labs just to name a few. There is also a studio like Turn 10, who is a large pillar to Microsoft Game Studios, but in a similar argument to Polyphony when Ranking PlayStation Studios, Turn 10 has been exclusively developing Forza Motorsport which has a devoted cult following but is not on the system selling level as some of the other studios on the list. Despite making a top tier racing simulator, Turn 10 will not be included on the list.
Runners Up
Rare
Rare is currently deep into supporting Sea of Thieves which was originally released back in 2018 to mostly underwhelming reviews with an average of 69. Since 2018, Rare has shown true commitment to what a live service game can be with plenty of updates and changes over the years. This includes adding content that solo players can do, quests to lead players to ways they can have fun as well as plenty of quality of life upgrades and limited time modes that draw players back in including the recent Pirates of the Caribbean event. Years later, many outlets felt that it was only fair to return to update their original reviews with most scoring the swashbuckling open world with 8’s and above. Rare is also a studio that has some insane classics on their portfolio including Goldeneye, Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, and Perfect Dark. Their upcoming Everwild, though shrouded in mystery, will come with lofty expectations which will likely be met based on the studios pedigree.
Mojang
One of the biggest gaming acquisitions ever was when Microsoft bought Mojang in 2014 for 2.5 billion based solely on the Minecraft universe. It has likely made its return on investment multiple times over as it was stated during the press release that Microsoft expected to breakeven in FY15. Since being acquired, obviously Microsoft has made sure that Minecraft got the updates and care that it needed as well as the exposure of being available on just about everything that you can imagine. Mojang also attempted another game with Minecraft Dungeons which had and still has a lot of potential based on how Minecraft first looked like when it launched compared to today. Minecraft Dungeons had a great core concept and strong mechanics but was missing a few key components that tied it all together and made it endlessly playable like the titans of the dungeon crawling genre. Whether Minecraft Dungeons gets the changes it needs or whatever Mojang does next, they are critical to the success of Microsoft Game Studios.
ID
One of the biggest studios that was incldued when Microsoft acquired Zenimax Media was ID Software. A studio who name is synonymous with gaming and is bascially known for creating the first person shooter genre. Wolf3D, Doom and Quake are all titles that were instrumental in the establishment of genre. Every other studio in the early 90’s was trying to emulate the success of the studio. Outside of those three franchises, ID software isn’t known for much else, but thing is, they don’t need to be. With the revival of Doom in 2016, the studio once again established itself as a major player. ID followed up Doom 2016 with Doom Eternal in 2020 that gave fans mostly more of what they were looking for, however 2019’s Rage 2 was underwhelming to most. Rage 2 provided what was to be expected with excellent gunplay, however many criticized the game for overly large and boring open world areas as well as a lacklustre story. Moving forward ID software still carries high expectations that has the ability to anchor a conference or presentation, including a revival of Quake, which could be a possibility after the remaster of Quake in 2021, likely to temperature check the interest. ID has been quiet since the release of Doom Eternal in 2020 and its post launch DLC, so it will be Interesting to see what they have planned next and if it will be Xbox exclusive.
Ranking Microsoft Game Studios
#5 - The Coalition (88.2 rating)
It’s no secret that Xbox suffered some setbacks and inconsistencies during the Xbox One generation, however there was one constant. Vancouver based studio The Coalition not only delivered excellent games, but they expanded the Gears of War universe and arguably improved with each release.
Gears of War 4 felt like a soft reboot for the series as it transitioned away from Marcus as the lead and towards a new generation with JD, the son of Marcus Fenix. Gears 5 continued this evolution by having you play as Kait, the daughter of Marcus Fenix as well as introducing some open world elements that fit extremely well into the series, albeit with some issues. These semi open world areas served as places to travel between missions hubs essentially, but offered a taste of something greater that could come to the Gears series.
It was Kait’s rich and engrossing storyline about her lineage that kept players hooked until the very end even if the defending some switch from the horde grew slightly repetitive by the end. Gears started out as a series that featured ultra macho dudes and smashing bugs and has now evolved into strong storylines.
If there is some bad news for fans of The Coalition, its that Rod Fergusson, longtime Gears of War veteran, dating back to the Epic days before Black Tusk took over Gears of War development before rebranded The Coalition, departed the studio in 2020 to take position at Blizzard to oversee the Diablo franchise. When he departed The Coalition he the head of the studio, and as a large reason for the Gears franchise evolving the way that it did and shifting away from Marcus as the main character.
The good news is that Gears of War 4 was released in 2016 and Gears 5 was released in 2019, which based on that release cadence would mean that it’s possible that we could see Gears return in 2022, if the pandemic didn’t affect the studio too much and the scope of the next entry didn’t bloom much larger than what the series has been known for.
#4 - MachineGames (Rating 88.4)
Just beating out The Coalition by .2 is one of the newly acquired studios that was part of the ZeniMax Media acquisition and that is MachineGames. If there is one thing that is easily discernible between PlayStation studios and Microsoft Game Studios is that they are much younger. No studio exemplifies this more than MachineGames. Founded in 2009 and acquired by ZeniMax media in 2010, the small studio was tasked with revitalizing Wolfenstein, which would not be an easy task as it had been attempted multiple times since the early 90’s when the series exploded with popularity.
Surprisingly, a studio with zero games on its resume was just the team to do it as Wolfenstein: The New Order, gave new life to a series that seemed to have fallen behind the times. MachineGames took Wolfenstein from another run of the mill shooter into a fantastic shooter with a great story and an amazing protagonist who started out as just a 2D picture at the bottom of the screen in Wolf3D.
MachineGames has grown considerably over the decade in terms of both size and popularity. As a studio that began with just a handful of employees is now home to 140 employees according to their LinkedIn. Not only are fans eagerly awaiting the finale of the Wolfenstein trilogy but MachineGames was also the studio chosen by Bethesda and Lucasfilm games to be the developer of the new Indiana Jones games which is very early in development and will likely release after the sequel to Wolfenstein: The New Colussus. Although, both Wolfenstein and Indiana Jones both battle Nazis, so the themes aren’t somrthing wholly unfamiliar to the studio, it will still be exciting what they do with an original Indiana Jones game.
The speed at which MachineGames has not only gone from formation but to anticipation, put them high on the list of Microsoft Game Studios at fourth place.
#3 - 343 Industries (Rating 88.7)
Coming in third place for ranking is likely a team that is first in terms of carrying the weight for Microsoft Game Studios. In fact, more than just Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox as a whole needs 343 Industries to take it to the next level since taking over the Halo franchise from Bungie after Halo Reach, 343 Industries have delivered solid games but have lacked the secret ingredient to take Halo to the next level and return it to the glory days of when it was a system seller for the original Xbox, it was the reason that I got into the Xbox ecosystem.
The studio was only formed back in 2007, when another team needed to fill the void left by Bungie and continue to develop one of, if not the most important series. If its not the most important than its for sure the most iconic Xbox series. If you don’t count the Master Chief Collection, then 343 has only developed two mainline entires with Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. Both scored in the mid 80’s with critics but just felt like another Halo game and didn’t overly move the master chief into the modern era.
Halo 4 showed that the series was in capable hands, especially for their first entry but Halo 5 and it’s dual storyline rubbed many players the wrong way leaving many feeling unsatisfied. Even though the multiplayer was extremely polished and fun, the negative feeling that was left after the release of Halo 5 has lingered since 2015.
The decision to delay Halo Infinte out of the launch window of the Xbox Series X and S was a bold choice that will hopefully pay off with extra development time. If the technical flights are anything to judge by then Halo looks to be in good shape because the reaction seems to be overwhelmingly positive.
Based on the sheer size of 343 of around 750 employees, failure is not an option. That is a lot of expenses that needs revenue of epic proportions which will only come from a near perfect game. Something that will keep players coming back and spending money. Typically the average wait for series since it’s creation in 2001 was 2-3 years but it will be over six years between Halo 5 and Halo Infinite, which has pushed not only development costs way up but also expectations are likely very high.
#2 - Arkane (Rating 90.95)
Although Arkane has been developing games since the early 2000’s, it wasn't until 2012 when the studio started to gain notoriety as an excellent developer of interesting worlds and mechanics. In 2010, Arkane was approached by ZeniMax and after working under contract for a little while, things changed as they were soon acquired after they began work on what would be known as Dishonored.
Upon its original release in 2012, Dishonered scored extra high from critics with an average review of 90 for many reasons including world design, mechanics and ability to approach the game in a myriad of ways. According to an article on games industry dot biz, Dishonored was the 9th best selling new IP of the decade in the UK, which is usually an indicator for the rest of the world.
The list features many Goliath titles that include Minecraft, Destiny, The Last of Us and Titanfall. Based on the other titles on this list, Dishonored performed admirably for a much smaller title. In 2012, Arkane was likely much smaller than it is today. Based on their current size, the studio is around 250 employees, which is spread across a studio in Lyon, France and Austin, Texas.
Following up the success of Dishonored, the studio released a sequel as well as a reboot to the Prey franchise, which Bethesda owned the IP from the original Prey back in 2005. Arkane continued to hone their craft for intelligent mechanics and level design that offer the player plenty of freedom, yet it still felt like Arkane wasn’t getting the recognition it deserves by being mentioned alongside some of the other elite studios.
Coming hot off their latest release, Deathloop, which seems to have finally taken the studio to the mainstream, we will now see just how much this will benefit Microsoft when their recently announced Xbox exclusive Redfall releases in summer of 2022. As we know, all first party game release on Game Pass, which will hopefully drive sales of both the subscription service and console sales so that people can sign up for Game Pass.
Very little is known about Redfall other than you are fighting vampires in an open world, first person shooter, which sounds very similar to what they have become known for, and more of a good thing is usually a good thing. You can clearly see the DNA of Dishonored in Deathloop and this trend will likely continue into Redfall
#1 - Playground Games (Rating 96.1)
Normally, I wouldn’t include a studio that is more niche like Polyphony only does Gran Turismo or Turn10 only does Forza Motorsport. Both of those series are great racing arcade simulator hybrids that are still accessible The reasoning for including Playground when not including those other two mentioned studios is simple; the Forza Horizon series is a much more accessible arcade racing game that everyone can enjoy, the Horizon series has a track record of being amazing with review averages well into the 90’s and most importantly their next project is the reboot of Fable.
Since 2012 when they released the original Forza Horizon series, the studio has shown consistency and quality. This is precisely the reasons that Microsoft acquired the studio in 2018, made them part of Xbox Game Studios and exactly why Microsoft has entrusted one of their iconic series with this studio. Not for nothing, Games Industry.Biz listed Playground Games as one of the best places to work in the UK, which based on the recent toxicity in the industry, this is a refreshing change.
This isn’t to say that Fable will be a guaranteed success because after all, this is a studio that has developed five games with all of them being Forza Horizon.
The great news is that since being acquired by Microsoft, Playground games has been expanding their personal as they added an additional studio in the UK. The combined size of both studios is close to 400 people based on their LinkedIn. This will give the studio the ability to continue delivering genre defining experiences with the Forza Horizon series as well as branch out into new genres.
There you have it, the ranking of Microsoft Game Studios based on data and their releases.
Here is the rest of the studios that were calculated
Double Fine - Rad (76) + Psychonauts 2 (88x1.1) = 86.4
Ninja Theory - Hellblade (88) + Bleeding Edge (66x1.1) = 80.3
Obsidian - Pillars of Eternity 2 (82) + Outer Worlds (85x1.1) = 87.75
Rare - Rare Replay (84) + Sea of Theives (69x1.1) = 79.95
Turn 10 - Forza 6 (87) + Forza 7 (86x1.1) = 90.8
Undead Labs - State of Decay (78) + State of Decay 2 (66x1.1) = 75.3
Bethesda Game Studios - Fallout 4 (88) + Fallout 76 (49x1.1) = 70.95
Mojang - Minecraft (88) + Minecraft Dungeons (74x1.1) = 84.7
Tango - Evil Within (79) + Evil Within 2 (82x1.1) = 84.6
ID - Rage 2 (72) + Doom Eternal (88x1.1) = 84.4
Top 5
Playground - Forza Horizon 3 (91) + Forza Horizon 4 (92x1.1) = 96.1
Arkane - Prey (84) + Deathloop (89x1.1) = 90.95
343 - Halo MCC (85) + Halo 5: Guardians (84x1.1) = 88.7
Coalition - Gears 5 (84x1.1) + Gears 4 (84) = 88.2
MachineGames - Wolfenstein: New Order (80) + Wolfenstein: The New Colossus (88x1.1) =88.4