Microsoft Studios, formerly known as Microsoft Games and then Microsoft Games Studios, is taking on another new name: Xbox Game Studios. It has been reasoned that the Xbox brand has expanded away from just the famous Microsoft-developed console, and it would be better to bring all aspects of gaming under the Xbox Game Studios brand. As Matt Booty’s news post expresses, this is applicable “across all devices,” including PCs and mobile devices.
It makes considerable sense; if you ask the average person what product they would associate with Microsoft, you would likely get an answer of “Windows” or maybe “Surface.” It’s the same theme with Xbox: People relate the brand to the console and gaming. From now on, all Microsoft’s gaming ventures will be brought under the control of Xbox Game Studios.
Xbox Game Studios inherits over a dozen developers: 343 Industries, Compulsion Games, inXile, Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Playground Games, Rare, The Coalition, The Initiative, Turn 10, Undead Labs, Mojang (Minecraft), and Microsoft Global Publishing group. The rebranded studio is already busy: Work is in progress on new content for Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 4, and Minecraft. Microsoft expanded aggressively in the gaming sector last year, snapping up seven new studios.