The worst has seemingly passed for Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Undead Labs and Ninja Theory. While the former two regain their independence in the wake of Xbox’s mass layoffs, the latter are under new ownership. They haven’t been announced, but sources speaking to Game File’s Stephen Totilo claim that they’ll be revealed this year.
In fact, we may learn about Undead Labs’ new owner this Summer. Interestingly, despite Xbox funding the development of State of Decay 3, the studio’s new owner is reportedly “not obligated” to make it a day one Game Pass release. It’s an unorthodox dynamic to be sure, and we’re interested to see how this could impact sales on Xbox.
Also, it seems that Xbox hasn’t cut Game Pass funding for third-party developers. Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani claimed that “loads of people” were in “advanced discussions” for deals on the service before having the “rug pulled out from under them.” Granted, both can be true at once, especially given Xbox’s shifting priorities and lack of growth in Game Pass.
Perhaps the most curious part of Totilo’s report is that CEO Asha Sharma allegedly believes the company has “massively under-invested” in Minecraft. Despite some disappointing spin-offs, from Minecraft: Story Mode to Minecraft Legends, there’s been some success with Minecraft Dungeons. The sequel is out on September 29th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Nevertheless, with the blockbuster success of A Minecraft Movie, it makes sense that Sharma would believe even more could be done. Mojang, alongside Candy Crush developer King, will report directly to her, so stay tuned for more updates on the IP’s future.
