With this and Halo Studios being shuttered and handing over Halo to Activision, every developer should know to avoid Microsoft at all costs
this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2026
135 points (100.0% liked)
Games
50837 readers
1961 users here now
Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.
Rules
1. Submissions have to be related to games
Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.
This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.
2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil
No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.
We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.
3. No excessive self-promotion
Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.
This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.
4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts
This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you're submitting before posting to see if it's already been posted.
We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.
5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW
Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.
No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.
6. No linking to piracy
Don't share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.
We don't want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.
Authorized Regular Threads
Related communities
PM a mod to add your own
Video games
Generic
- !gaming@Lemmy.world: Our sister community, focused on PC and console gaming. Meme are allowed.
- !photomode@feddit.uk: For all your screenshots needs, to share your love for games graphics.
- !vgmusic@lemmy.world: A community to share your love for video games music
- !freegames@feddit.uk: A community sharing free games giveaways.
Help and suggestions
By platform
By type
- !AutomationGames@lemmy.zip
- !Incremental_Games@incremental.social
- !LifeSimulation@lemmy.world
- !CityBuilders@sh.itjust.works
- !CozyGames@Lemmy.world
- !CRPG@lemmy.world
- !horror_games@piefed.world
- !OtomeGames@ani.social
- !Shmups@lemmus.org
- !space_games@piefed.world
- !strategy_games@piefed.world
- !turnbasedstrategy@piefed.world
- !tycoon@lemmy.world
- !VisualNovels@ani.social
By games
- !Baldurs_Gate_3@lemmy.world
- !Cities_Skylines@lemmy.world
- !CassetteBeasts@Lemmy.world
- !Fallout@lemmy.world
- !FinalFantasyXIV@lemmy.world
- !Minecraft@Lemmy.world
- !NoMansSky@lemmy.world
- !Palia@Lemmy.world
- !Pokemon@lemm.ee
- !Silksong@indie-ver.se
- !Skyrim@lemmy.world
- !StardewValley@lemm.ee
- !Subnautica2@Lemmy.world
- !WorkersAndResources@lemmy.world
Language specific
- !JeuxVideo@jlai.lu: French
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
I don't understand why any company would sell out to Microsoft. MS's modus operandi since its inception has been to stifle competition by buying everything up and gutting it. It's a death sentence.
Is it for a big personal pay out and the team can all go elsewhere with a fat check once the axe drops?
The owners of the company get a fat check while the employees gets shafted. Same as with any corporate merger.
That's what I assume - like if your studio is going under anyway and MS is the only one to make an offer, you might be able to keep the place running for another year of so, give everyone a buffer and maybe finish whatever you were working on. I would figure it's not a long-term strategy though, more just slowing the collapse.
A shame. I liked Enslaved, loved DmC, and really liked Hellblade. They made quite a big thing at the time they were making Hellblade about wanting to be 'double A' publishers - making highly polished indie games on a sensible budget, basically. And then they sold out to Microsoft, which has screwed them over - all those publishers needing to make a non-stop stream of big budget megahits or they'll be hung out to dry.
Consolations to all affected. It has been an absolute bloodbath in games development recently.
This industry is so fucked.
Time to bust out the trump card. Heavenly Sword 2.
I didn't like the way that Phil Spencer was running the company: trying to maximize profits by funding microtransaction titles and features up the wazoo.
I really really really don't like the way Asha Sharma is running the company: trying to maximize profits by cutting off all the less profitable titles and consolidating all their titles under one roof.
These chucklefucks go to school for like four to eight years to learn business and then go into a field like videogames/software and they learn zero fucking lessons from companies who made all the same mistakes in the past. EA did this shit and eventually went so far down the drain that they sold the company off to a foreign prince.
I read a good article a while back about how Microsoft needs to choose whether there are console maker or a game publisher. As a company, you can't succeed at both because fundamentally those two approaches are at odds with each other. Consoles need exclusives. But game publishers need maximum exposure, which comes from NOT being exclusive.
FWIW, I don't think Sharma understands this.
These people don't learn from their mistakes because in their minds, they didn't make any. They just see this as the natural course of business as they ruin one company after the next.
Lesson 1: You can do a strange game if you want, it will be acclaimed if done without obvious bugs. But you won't get much money from that. Especially when you're under the corporate boot and should give away most of the income anyway.
Lesson 2: You can't skip lesson 1, make ANOTHER strange game and expect to stay in business.
Cyan, makers of Myst:
Because the 1997 games market is EXACTLY THE SAME as the 2026 market.
Duh.
One would think the market is more susceptible to strange games in 2026. Everyone loves their hyper niches with other forms of media.
If one thought that, one would be creating stories unburdened by grounding facts and reality
Never let reality get in the way of a good story
Myst had classical "adventure" gameplay. Slightly different UI and rather crazy plot, but under the hood it was just an adventure game with puzzles. Hellblade 1-2 was a walking simulator without even a cool plot. The only "killer feature" was the face animation of the main personage.
Hellblade 1-2 was a walking simulator without even a cool plot.
I haven't played 2 yet, but gonna have to defend 1 here... I thought the plot, while not mind-blowingly good, was both engaging and good. In fact I'd say it carried the game more than the gameplay.
Game: the most compelling and accurate representation of genuine psycosis ever created, with extensive documentation on engaging with real people with those psychoses to ensure a true-to-life representation; expressed as an epic fantasy dark adventure through hell.
This guy: its boring bro.
You gonna also comment on how mind-numbingly pedestrian the combat was? The uninspired puzzles? Or did you just watch the game on YouTube?
Like, I'm glad the game changed your life, but we're hear to discuss video games and you're surprised someone called a glorified walking simulator boring?
Walking simulators aren't even a bad genre if the story is good enough, but the story didn't have much to say either.
I thought it was interesting enough of a premise that I played the first game. The audio design was top notch, especially the voices in her head of course. But the plot went absolutely nowhere, and it doesn't have anything to say about psychosis or the causes and consequences of it. And the combat is bad. The game is mostly walking through linear levels with occasional graphical stuttering, occasional pressing of square to fight, and very basic puzzles. There was no world where I would have played the second game unless it reviewed differently.
.. .it doesn't have anything to say about psychosis or the causes and consequences of it.
You should really watch the documentary they made about the making of the game. The game itself is literally a commentary about psychosis.
What does it say about the game, that you need to recommend supplemental material so one can get this supposed message?
Its more like "here's a reference that will get you past being intentionally obtuse on the topic".
They were independent when Senua 1 was released. Xbox bought them between 1 & 2.