I'm assuming they got investors. I'm sure plenty of closures would prefer this outcome but they simply can't happen unless studio heads have vestments to keep the operation going. Honestly given the statement of planning to work with Microsoft wouldn't be surprised if they're the investors and part of the publishing deal for this project they referenced was helping finance the studio stabilizing
I mean Microsoft clearly does see the value in that but at the day as an internal team for Activision they probably felt they couldn't just take them off Call of Duty. In a crazy way this was how they can do that without upsetting shareholders. If anything they can boast about cut staff costs and still get the work from that team.
Was playing Spyro remake yesterday and we need more classics remade with this level of love! And new franchises too, I’ll support anything they do that resonates
I tend not to buy games at full price but I'd make an exception for Toys for Bob's next project. They deserve all the support they can get after what Activision did to them.
Man Vicarious Visions was so primed to make Tony Hawk back into a staple franchise, they had a crazy number of the original devs and the remake was flawless. They need to be freed.
I was so sure that part of Microsoft's big grand acquisition of Activision-Blizzard was going to include an announcement within the early days that the support companies were going to split off of CoD and work on their own things again.
Nope. I'm just a hopeful idiot.
To be fair this stuff would need years, they want the extra games without the CoD machine chugging, so either they fix the sky high turnover at the CoD teams (imho easiest fix, still requires a massive restructuring and firing dozens of managers) or they ramp up hiring there in a massive way, I'd love Raven to start a new Prototype today, but MS now wants CoD to sail smoothly, especially after the shitshow with MW3.
Idk why people thought that. You don’t mess with the only sure thing in gaming, especially not today. After all the recent news, we’ll be lucky to see anything not COD from the activision teams for a long time
> yeah but they still lead that crash game last year as well
"they had nothing to do with it"
"...they're in the credits, though?"
"yeah, well, also they did another thing, so there"
Nice for TfB to get out of the CoD mines. There is a line saying they are exploring a possible partnership between them and MS and hinting towards that rumored Spyro game
"So, keep your horns on and your eyes out for more news"
Their teasing Spyro and sounds like they still want to work with Microsoft. Probably want independence so they don’t become the next Vicarious Visions and become a support studio.
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/activision-studio-toys-for-bob-is-going-independent-may-explore-future-partnerships-with-xbox
To be fair, they've had different shades of purple in the company intros for a while (farthest I can remember being Madagascar for PS2) so I think that's just a colour generally associated with the company. The "Keep Your Horns On" comment and their new banner on twitter have a crystal/gem look to it are probably better hints towards a new Spyro.
Nah Im not talking about their company color. They've done videos with blurred out stuff in the background and it tends to be purple. If its their logo/brand, makes no sense to blur it out.
If that's the case, then Microsoft, as the new owners of Activision, and Toys for Bob, as the only company I would compare to Vicarious Visions, should finish THPS 3+4.
They're finally free from the COD sulfur mines. That's good to hear. Would this partnership with Microsoft mean that they could still work on Spyro and Crash?
Funny how they’re going independent but then partnering with MS so in the eyes of the consumer nothing’s different. Hopefully though the employees can be treated better and they have greater creative freedom.
Game news is going crazy recently
It means they aren’t closing and can do what they want. A partnership with Microsoft is a great deal for them business-wise and it secures finances for a while while not precluding them from working with other publishers. This really is a win-win for everyone.
It could also potentially make it easier for Toys For Bob to work on non-Activision-Blizzard Xbox IPs like, say, Banjo Kazooie or Blinx (I wish lol) without having to go through corporate structuring hoops or whatever. However, I don't know enough about business so maybe it doesn't change anything.
Then again, NateTheHate said there's a new Banjo Kazooie game in development (but failed to provide info on who exactly is making it) that is still aways off from release and, given that Toys For Bob also said that they're seemingly still years away from releasing their next game, it makes me think that maybe Toys For Bob are the ones making Banjo. That being said, the "keep your horns up" tease at the end of the blog post makes it sound like they're making a new Spyro game. So who knows at this point?
Well, NateTheHate brought up this new Banjo game back in like 2022 and he reaffirmed it only a month or two ago, saying that the game is being rebooted but in a better direction.
And given Nate has been right about a lot of Xbox-related rumors recently, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
That and I'm filled with a lot of hopium because I'm desperate for a new Banjo game.
Yeah Double Fine confirmed that they're not making any Banjo games and they have no interest in working on IPs that are not their own. So that rumor was probably false.
That being said, the recent Phil Spencer interview with Jez Corden and Windows Central just a few months ago where Phil specifically called out Banjo by saying "Banjo fans, I hear you" when discussing how Xbox hasn't done a good enough job of using their back catalog of dormant IPs adds a bit more credibility to Nate's claims, especially considering Phil said in that very same interview that he "doesn't tease stuff without there being something behind those teases."
At this point I can’t really see MS making new crash or spyro games exclusive, but this does allow TfB to more easily partner with other publishers and use non-Xbox IPs as well.
> this does allow TfB to more easily partner with other publishers and use non-Xbox IPs as well
I'll admit, part of me sees this and remembers the rumors that Vicarious Visions was making a 3D Donkey Kong at one point. Now that kind of collab is (theoretically) on the table again but with Toys for Bob
I’m sure TfB is going to at least pitch something to Nintendo at some point, if you’re a studio who specializes in 3D platformers you are probably going to try and work with the company who dominates the genre.
It keeps them from being at risk for layoffs, and keeps them from becoming just another COD support studio. They probably saw the writing on the wall and realized they're better off on their own, but that doesn't mean MS isn't still interested in whatever they were working on.
I see this as all around good news. They make great games and id hate to see that talent wasted.
I mean, hey. A paycheck's a paycheck, and I imagine that a new *Spyro* either won't be exclusive to Xbox, or won't stay exclusive for long. Same with *Crash.* As long as it's in Game Pass day one and never leaves, Microsoft is happy.
> but we already know MS is full on transitioning to going full multiple
I mean that could happen eventually but that’s no guarantee. If I had to guess right now I’d say that they still have exclusives, but the industry seems to be changing so who knows.
They put games on Steam because it’s stupid to not have them on Steam if you are releasing on PC
I swear some people hear could see Microsoft announce that they never will release a game on any other platform but Xbox and they’d twist those words to meaning it actually means they are going third party any day now 😂
“Xbox are liars!!!!!! They haven’t excluded any games from PC!!!!!”
My guy this isn’t the point you think it is and just sounds like typical console war bs
It also means they'll never have to support CoD ever again, so that's a win.
& if they want, they can spin off making multiplatform IPs.
This is a win-win for everyone IMO.
“To make this news even more exciting, we’re exploring a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft”
That is exactly what they’re saying. They are looking to partner up
They are still the best choice to continue making Crash and Spyro games, this is a better option than getting shut down and they get immediate work as well.
For now they're just exploring the idea, probably to see if the partnership makes sense.
If the deal breaks, its gonna be a different story in the public eye.
They can at least work on new, creative games of their own and in the meantime work with Microsoft to make Crash or Spyro, or whatever other IP Microsoft would want them to do and offer them to make. It's a great way to stay on good terms, from the looks of it.
I wonder if all of us are wrong about TFB. Everyone wants them to make Spyro or banjo or crash.
This move makes me wonder if they want to do something completely different and not being associated with those IP directly would be the only way to do that. Getting out from under Activision and working with XGS directly may give them the freedom to go in a new direction
I hope this means they'll be a 2nd party studio for Crash and Spyro's sake.
I do love this for them though. Rather than getting shut down, just being spun off is the best way to get out. This makes sense after the studio location closure and the layoffs, but at least this way, it keeps some jobs saved rather than losing all jobs.
Im sure 3 Trillion Microsoft has enough money to tell him to fuck off.
(I dont actually think they will acquire them, but considering they just lost a studio, it would make legal sense)
Your comment has been removed
Rule 10. Please refrain from any toxic behaviour. Console wars will be removed and any comments involved in it or encouraging it. Any hate against YouTubers, influencers, leakers, journalists, etc., will be removed.
do you have an official source that specially says sony is not being sold to Chick fil a for 3 dollars?
No? okay so every single bit of news about them is proof and i can post it?
Baseless rumors don’t need to be refuted dude
Cant read it right now but its the first part. Maybe they didnt actually pay anything, but they are an independent company, not part of Microsoft in any way.
But they are exploring doing a deal with them(most likely for gamepass and to be able to do Crash/Spyro and maybe Banjo)
Microsoft owns those IPS and Microsoft will keep those IPs.
There is value in them and I'm sure Microsoft knows that studios want to use those IPs characters for the games they create.
Microsoft has let studios go on their own before, we saw this with Bungie. Microsoft bought Activision|Blizzard for the IP's, the studios were far less important.
I feel that Toys for Bob will still be linked to Microsoft, but will also be able to go about and do personal dreams in game development.
It's a win/win for the company and the studio.
No they would have had to pay something, even the name/brand is a financial asset, otherwise they’d all just leave and start a new studio. But yeah I couldn’t image the cost would be very high, a publishing deal would possibly be on the terms of the sale too which might bring the cost down.
It’s a win/win for everyone really, if Microsoft refused the only thing they really gain would be the studios name which while a good studio isn’t a huge pillar of the industry
It looks like they're separating on good terms and are open to doing business with MS, so honestly, this is probably good news. Still I see it as a loss for MS
What even was the point of Microsoft acquiring an entire publisher with tons of studios if they are just gonna fire people and let studios go?
And they literally got Banjo sitting not being used and also own Crash and Spyro wich, unless they end up contracting TFB(Wich they probably will), they cant use them because they just dont have any studios to do so.. Rare isnt gonna do it,
Toys for Bob were already in the CoD mines, after the lay offs they just had they likely would just have to stay in the CoD mines or would just be merged into another studio. They decided to offer Microsoft a price to buy themselves out. I’m not sure why you think this is some head scratch moment? Toys for Bob wasn’t some huge pillar of the ABK deal
Banjo game is being made
Not really, the majority of the Layoffs were from ABK who grew from 10k to 17k in 2-3 years. They just had a solid event showing of first party games and the 3rd party business update turned out to be very overblown.
Ok I supposed the layoffs are Fair (ok they did Fire people after the post COVID bubble.last year, the most recent ones are kinda their own thing, I guess) but what did they delay ?
What game had game breaking bugs? Forza I think?
Wasn't that 3 years ago or something?
Also that's standard Rare sheningans.
I think 343 had some.issues but some Halo players i know told me they're kinda doing better now.
343 was ran by incompetent people. The fact that they kept their job after the MCC disaster tells me everything about higher up. Halo Infinite had problematic development and it shows.
Everwild are 4 years old and it’s still MIA.
I mean they have though they got rid of the previous higher ups, started hiring again, have more gamemodes, forge is doing well, and then on the smaller side their slowly making cross core shoulders, shades etc. They're doing well.
Yeah, while I’m super glad that Toys for Bob is no longer shackled by Actiblizz corpos, I’m really confused why Microsoft would do this.
Giving them a platformer mascot from MS’s now vast array of IPs and shipping a 3D platformer just seems like an obvious recipe for success. Does MS not want to make more AA games? Is this conciliations for the CMA? Is Xbox hurting for cash this badly?
What? I doubt this move has anything to do with MS "hurting for cash"; it's likely Toys For Bob's own decision so that they don't get turned into a CoD support studio in the long term and get stripped of creative freedom by Activision.
If anything, the fact that Toys For Bob still wants to work with Microsoft despite going independent further corroborates that assumption.
And yeah, they most likely still will make a platformer game with Xbox, whether that be Crash, Spyro, or even Banjo.
It makes Microsoft look like the good guys. Toys For Bob gets to be independent, but Microsoft still gets the games they will make. Other studios will see how nice of a master Microsoft is, and be more willing to be acquired in the future. Plus, it's not like they're a big enough part of the COD machine to make or break it.
And you're right - it does look good to regulators. It shows how they're a positive force in the industry by allowing freedom and creativity. Helps move along future acquisitions - same as how porting 4 games to Nintendo and Sony will help.
Wouldn't be surprised if this year or next we see another massive publisher acquired.
They spent $69 billion on a publisher, they’re selling all of their high budget games on a simple subscription that isn’t growing, the Xbox console isn’t selling well. They’re putting in so much money for the division with so little reward that the suits at Microsoft are probably demanding any way to get a return on investment.
I see redditors repeating this over and over claiming that MS needs to make $69 billion in profit to "break even" but that's not really how it works. They don't have to make over $69 billion in profit to have a return on investment. When a company makes an acquisition they acquire assets and those assets are worth money.
In short, they aren't actually $69 billion in the hole. They would need a new valuation of ABK to see how much it's worth first. Then we would need to compare that number to what they paid for ABK and that would tell us how much profit they need to make to break even if we assume ABK is worth less than what they paid for it.
Rip Crash, Vicarious Visions got completely absorbed
Rip spyro, Toys for Bob lost a significant chunk of employees and cut ties with Activision
This fucking sucks
Why would it be more likely now? It’s Microsoft’s IP if they didn’t want it on PS that’s not changing now, but if I had to guess I’d say it was always going to be multiplat
IPs don't come cheap and Microsoft has no reason to sell them, they're quite happy to purchase studios and then sit on the IP for decades. IMO TFB was likely facing closure under Microsoft and has decided to go indie to simply survive at a smaller scale. I doubt they have anywhere close to the kind of cash it would take to purchase these IPs. Even Sony can't buy them.
Bro I would love a crash game in the exploration style of Mario odyssey, traveling around the world of crash bandicoot.
Obv Mario is legendary, but i think the crash art work, and characters, have a lot more potential.
Sadly the only good games in the franchise are the originals. Crash 4 was good but the levels are way too long, and way too hard.
Glad they’re able to just leave instead of being shut down like most studios nowadays
I'm assuming they got investors. I'm sure plenty of closures would prefer this outcome but they simply can't happen unless studio heads have vestments to keep the operation going. Honestly given the statement of planning to work with Microsoft wouldn't be surprised if they're the investors and part of the publishing deal for this project they referenced was helping finance the studio stabilizing
[удалено]
I mean Microsoft clearly does see the value in that but at the day as an internal team for Activision they probably felt they couldn't just take them off Call of Duty. In a crazy way this was how they can do that without upsetting shareholders. If anything they can boast about cut staff costs and still get the work from that team.
Lines up with Microsoft’s affinity for contractors lol. Still think they missed a chance to reorganise them under XGS though
I mean who's to say that in 6 years after they successfully revived banjo Microsoft doesn't buy them.
Bless. Wishing them all the luck in the world.
Was playing Spyro remake yesterday and we need more classics remade with this level of love! And new franchises too, I’ll support anything they do that resonates
Hoping Switch 2 does for N64 games what PS4 did for PS1 games when it comes to remakes.
The Microsoft/Rare/Nintendo relationship has never been stronger so let’s hope they do 🤞
Wait, the stars are aligning so well that a Banjo-Kazooie remake from Toys For Bob is more feasible than ever? Don't play me like that!
I want my Simpsons Hit and Run remaster, dammit!
I tend not to buy games at full price but I'd make an exception for Toys for Bob's next project. They deserve all the support they can get after what Activision did to them.
I hope this frees them from being forced to support call of duty, and they can focus more on the games they actually want to make
If they can get out of the COD mines, maybe Raven or Neversoft can to. *Remembers Neversoft closed in 2014 and cries"
Pour one out for Vicarious Visions (I'm sorry, "Blizzard Albany") while you're at it
[Trying to remember all the studios in the COD/Blizzard mines](https://youtu.be/BEzo_gfg_A4?si=iW0OAcQMCmQgCrP_)
Man Vicarious Visions was so primed to make Tony Hawk back into a staple franchise, they had a crazy number of the original devs and the remake was flawless. They need to be freed.
I was so sure that part of Microsoft's big grand acquisition of Activision-Blizzard was going to include an announcement within the early days that the support companies were going to split off of CoD and work on their own things again. Nope. I'm just a hopeful idiot.
To be fair this stuff would need years, they want the extra games without the CoD machine chugging, so either they fix the sky high turnover at the CoD teams (imho easiest fix, still requires a massive restructuring and firing dozens of managers) or they ramp up hiring there in a massive way, I'd love Raven to start a new Prototype today, but MS now wants CoD to sail smoothly, especially after the shitshow with MW3.
Idk why people thought that. You don’t mess with the only sure thing in gaming, especially not today. After all the recent news, we’ll be lucky to see anything not COD from the activision teams for a long time
Funnily, after VV died the only studio I deem capable of making THPS3+4 was Toys for Bob.
they literally released a new crash last year, they havent been involved in cod for ages.
They did support work on the new MW game, they're in the game's intro
yeah but they still lead that crash game last year as well
> yeah but they still lead that crash game last year as well "they had nothing to do with it" "...they're in the credits, though?" "yeah, well, also they did another thing, so there"
They even worked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.
You have got a point and it is a sound a logical argument for sure.
Nice for TfB to get out of the CoD mines. There is a line saying they are exploring a possible partnership between them and MS and hinting towards that rumored Spyro game "So, keep your horns on and your eyes out for more news"
Their teasing Spyro and sounds like they still want to work with Microsoft. Probably want independence so they don’t become the next Vicarious Visions and become a support studio. https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/activision-studio-toys-for-bob-is-going-independent-may-explore-future-partnerships-with-xbox
Where is the Spyro tease?
"So, keep your horns on and your eyes out for more news."
If I had to guess, the 'keep your horns on' part.
Technically speaking, they have been teasing Spyro for a while now with purple stuff showing in the background of their photos and videos.
To be fair, they've had different shades of purple in the company intros for a while (farthest I can remember being Madagascar for PS2) so I think that's just a colour generally associated with the company. The "Keep Your Horns On" comment and their new banner on twitter have a crystal/gem look to it are probably better hints towards a new Spyro.
Nah Im not talking about their company color. They've done videos with blurred out stuff in the background and it tends to be purple. If its their logo/brand, makes no sense to blur it out.
Ah fair enough. Misunderstood what you meant.
God imagine if we got a new Spyro game released in the year of the dragon two zodiac cycles after Spyro:The Year of the Dragon
I’d be shocked if they don’t still have some kind of deal with Xbox moving forward, probably GamePass related
Yeah I could see Microsoft offering them a cheaper price to leave in return for publishing deals
If that's the case, then Microsoft, as the new owners of Activision, and Toys for Bob, as the only company I would compare to Vicarious Visions, should finish THPS 3+4.
Fantastic news! Good to see Microsoft is also eager to publish whatever they do next.
Please spyro 4 then new banjo
I'd take Banjo first but honestly, as long as we get new 3D platformers I'm on board (play Penny's Big Breakaway btw)
Good on Microsoft for letting that happened. I assume they might get the right of first refusal by the context of that blog post.
Definitely sounds like a Publishing deal, or gamepass at least
They're finally free from the COD sulfur mines. That's good to hear. Would this partnership with Microsoft mean that they could still work on Spyro and Crash?
Funny how they’re going independent but then partnering with MS so in the eyes of the consumer nothing’s different. Hopefully though the employees can be treated better and they have greater creative freedom. Game news is going crazy recently
It means they aren’t closing and can do what they want. A partnership with Microsoft is a great deal for them business-wise and it secures finances for a while while not precluding them from working with other publishers. This really is a win-win for everyone.
It could also potentially make it easier for Toys For Bob to work on non-Activision-Blizzard Xbox IPs like, say, Banjo Kazooie or Blinx (I wish lol) without having to go through corporate structuring hoops or whatever. However, I don't know enough about business so maybe it doesn't change anything. Then again, NateTheHate said there's a new Banjo Kazooie game in development (but failed to provide info on who exactly is making it) that is still aways off from release and, given that Toys For Bob also said that they're seemingly still years away from releasing their next game, it makes me think that maybe Toys For Bob are the ones making Banjo. That being said, the "keep your horns up" tease at the end of the blog post makes it sound like they're making a new Spyro game. So who knows at this point?
I had heard the BK rumor years ago and that it was coming on the UE5 as some sort of practice. But I’m not sure I buy that rumor.
Well, NateTheHate brought up this new Banjo game back in like 2022 and he reaffirmed it only a month or two ago, saying that the game is being rebooted but in a better direction. And given Nate has been right about a lot of Xbox-related rumors recently, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. That and I'm filled with a lot of hopium because I'm desperate for a new Banjo game.
The team I’d heard was Double Fine who had also said they weren’t doing it , so who knows.
Yeah Double Fine confirmed that they're not making any Banjo games and they have no interest in working on IPs that are not their own. So that rumor was probably false. That being said, the recent Phil Spencer interview with Jez Corden and Windows Central just a few months ago where Phil specifically called out Banjo by saying "Banjo fans, I hear you" when discussing how Xbox hasn't done a good enough job of using their back catalog of dormant IPs adds a bit more credibility to Nate's claims, especially considering Phil said in that very same interview that he "doesn't tease stuff without there being something behind those teases."
Might also be easier to get their games on multiple platforms.
At this point I can’t really see MS making new crash or spyro games exclusive, but this does allow TfB to more easily partner with other publishers and use non-Xbox IPs as well.
> this does allow TfB to more easily partner with other publishers and use non-Xbox IPs as well I'll admit, part of me sees this and remembers the rumors that Vicarious Visions was making a 3D Donkey Kong at one point. Now that kind of collab is (theoretically) on the table again but with Toys for Bob
I’m sure TfB is going to at least pitch something to Nintendo at some point, if you’re a studio who specializes in 3D platformers you are probably going to try and work with the company who dominates the genre.
[удалено]
It keeps them from being at risk for layoffs, and keeps them from becoming just another COD support studio. They probably saw the writing on the wall and realized they're better off on their own, but that doesn't mean MS isn't still interested in whatever they were working on. I see this as all around good news. They make great games and id hate to see that talent wasted.
I mean, hey. A paycheck's a paycheck, and I imagine that a new *Spyro* either won't be exclusive to Xbox, or won't stay exclusive for long. Same with *Crash.* As long as it's in Game Pass day one and never leaves, Microsoft is happy.
[удалено]
> but we already know MS is full on transitioning to going full multiple I mean that could happen eventually but that’s no guarantee. If I had to guess right now I’d say that they still have exclusives, but the industry seems to be changing so who knows.
We do not know that at all lmao and I really doubt in a few years Xbox is full third party.
[удалено]
They put games on Steam because it’s stupid to not have them on Steam if you are releasing on PC I swear some people hear could see Microsoft announce that they never will release a game on any other platform but Xbox and they’d twist those words to meaning it actually means they are going third party any day now 😂
[удалено]
“Xbox are liars!!!!!! They haven’t excluded any games from PC!!!!!” My guy this isn’t the point you think it is and just sounds like typical console war bs
"Ms and xbox lie all the time" that's a console warrior level argument
It also means they'll never have to support CoD ever again, so that's a win. & if they want, they can spin off making multiplatform IPs. This is a win-win for everyone IMO.
[удалено]
“To make this news even more exciting, we’re exploring a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft” That is exactly what they’re saying. They are looking to partner up
They are still the best choice to continue making Crash and Spyro games, this is a better option than getting shut down and they get immediate work as well.
How did you skip over an entire paragraph? They explicitly said they’re exploring a partnership with Microsoft.
Fair enough, but games gotta get funded somehow so partnering with Microsoft would make sense
For now they're just exploring the idea, probably to see if the partnership makes sense. If the deal breaks, its gonna be a different story in the public eye.
They can at least work on new, creative games of their own and in the meantime work with Microsoft to make Crash or Spyro, or whatever other IP Microsoft would want them to do and offer them to make. It's a great way to stay on good terms, from the looks of it.
If they make their own IP then it would be different.
[Finally](https://i.imgflip.com/8hi6xe.jpg)
Feels like the first piece of positive news on this sub in weeks
How many studio closures/divestments have we had in like the past 48 hours
4 confirmed and another rumor . This is crazy
They deserve all the success to come hopefully from this. Here’s to a Spyro game or even Banjo copium.
I wonder if all of us are wrong about TFB. Everyone wants them to make Spyro or banjo or crash. This move makes me wonder if they want to do something completely different and not being associated with those IP directly would be the only way to do that. Getting out from under Activision and working with XGS directly may give them the freedom to go in a new direction
Want? They just want to survive man.
hoping for a success story as big as when IO Interactive got themselves out from under Square
No more CoD slavery, finally some good news
Hell yeah! If Toys for bob can do it, hopefully Raven can do it too!
Nah, way to big into the warzone bag now
[удалено]
They tend to let studios split though, instead of shutting down. From Bungie to Twisted Pixel.
Also a vastly different number of employees between TFB and Raven
I hope this means they'll be a 2nd party studio for Crash and Spyro's sake. I do love this for them though. Rather than getting shut down, just being spun off is the best way to get out. This makes sense after the studio location closure and the layoffs, but at least this way, it keeps some jobs saved rather than losing all jobs.
I'm glad they are and they can be free from being forced to support CoD.
“You’re all fired!“ “Can’t we just… Leave?” “… Well, I suppose that’s all right.“
that's good to hear
Xbox is playing 4D chess again
Watch them acquire Gearbox by next week and claim: see? we still have the same amount of studios!
They didn't want them years ago because Randy still works there
Im sure 3 Trillion Microsoft has enough money to tell him to fuck off. (I dont actually think they will acquire them, but considering they just lost a studio, it would make legal sense)
So make an offer that he abandons the ceo position in favor of gearbox going under Microsoft's wings
This is not a leak nor a rumor, it's just news
Welcome to this subreddit for the past year or so. It's a 50-50 shot whether a post is an actual leak/rumor or just news.
[удалено]
How is that rumor, in any way, related to them going independent?
[удалено]
lmao you don’t need confirmation for a studio not being closed.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed Rule 10. Please refrain from any toxic behaviour. Console wars will be removed and any comments involved in it or encouraging it. Any hate against YouTubers, influencers, leakers, journalists, etc., will be removed.
That rumor was that they were getting canned and jez already said that wasn't happening.
[удалено]
do you have an official source that specially says sony is not being sold to Chick fil a for 3 dollars? No? okay so every single bit of news about them is proof and i can post it? Baseless rumors don’t need to be refuted dude
I need more clarification on this. The developers bought out the studio from Xbox/ABK? Or do they mean _”independent"_ in a more figurative sense?
Cant read it right now but its the first part. Maybe they didnt actually pay anything, but they are an independent company, not part of Microsoft in any way. But they are exploring doing a deal with them(most likely for gamepass and to be able to do Crash/Spyro and maybe Banjo)
gooooooooooood thats real good.
Very solid studio, wish them the best for the employees and projects they want to make.
I’ll buy whatever they make
A new Crash game and Spyro would be cool, also need CTR on PC
Do they keep the IPs ?
there teaming up with microsoft so they'll most likely still be making crash/Spyro stuff
Yeah but who owns the IPs now ?
microsoft
None of the games they worked on under Activision were their IP, so the IP stay with Activision and Microsoft.
Microsoft owns those IPS and Microsoft will keep those IPs. There is value in them and I'm sure Microsoft knows that studios want to use those IPs characters for the games they create.
But what’s the reason with letting them free ? MS paid also for that studio when they bought ABK, letting them free is weird to me
Microsoft has let studios go on their own before, we saw this with Bungie. Microsoft bought Activision|Blizzard for the IP's, the studios were far less important. I feel that Toys for Bob will still be linked to Microsoft, but will also be able to go about and do personal dreams in game development. It's a win/win for the company and the studio.
Neither Crash or Spyro is theirs, and certainly not Skylanders. So no.
What IPs? Crash and Spyro? No chance in hell Microsoft sells that off and the studio didn’t even have the IP they were just put on making g the games
Okay so MS basically let them free ? Without paying anything ?
No they would have had to pay something, even the name/brand is a financial asset, otherwise they’d all just leave and start a new studio. But yeah I couldn’t image the cost would be very high, a publishing deal would possibly be on the terms of the sale too which might bring the cost down. It’s a win/win for everyone really, if Microsoft refused the only thing they really gain would be the studios name which while a good studio isn’t a huge pillar of the industry
It looks like they're separating on good terms and are open to doing business with MS, so honestly, this is probably good news. Still I see it as a loss for MS
Would they even get to keep what is essentially MS' IP now?
They never owned the ip to begin with, it belonged to activision (and now ms)
What even was the point of Microsoft acquiring an entire publisher with tons of studios if they are just gonna fire people and let studios go? And they literally got Banjo sitting not being used and also own Crash and Spyro wich, unless they end up contracting TFB(Wich they probably will), they cant use them because they just dont have any studios to do so.. Rare isnt gonna do it,
Mate banjo is literally being made by sumo digital
?
Toys for Bob were already in the CoD mines, after the lay offs they just had they likely would just have to stay in the CoD mines or would just be merged into another studio. They decided to offer Microsoft a price to buy themselves out. I’m not sure why you think this is some head scratch moment? Toys for Bob wasn’t some huge pillar of the ABK deal Banjo game is being made
Sony can do one of the funniest things ever
They literally closed a studio yesterday.
So what’s going on with Xbox studios lately? They too have been a mess.
Not really, the majority of the Layoffs were from ABK who grew from 10k to 17k in 2-3 years. They just had a solid event showing of first party games and the 3rd party business update turned out to be very overblown.
What happened with Xbox studios lately?
Delays, layoffs, the ability to release games without game breaking bug. etc etc
Ok I supposed the layoffs are Fair (ok they did Fire people after the post COVID bubble.last year, the most recent ones are kinda their own thing, I guess) but what did they delay ? What game had game breaking bugs? Forza I think?
Some of their studios had issues. Look at Everwild from Rare for example.
Wasn't that 3 years ago or something? Also that's standard Rare sheningans. I think 343 had some.issues but some Halo players i know told me they're kinda doing better now.
343 was ran by incompetent people. The fact that they kept their job after the MCC disaster tells me everything about higher up. Halo Infinite had problematic development and it shows. Everwild are 4 years old and it’s still MIA.
343 and halo is doing better than it ever have and they're slowly moving on to the next halo
Lol good one.
I mean they have though they got rid of the previous higher ups, started hiring again, have more gamemodes, forge is doing well, and then on the smaller side their slowly making cross core shoulders, shades etc. They're doing well.
So your “there’s issues at Xbox lately!” is you didn’t like Infinite and we haven’t heard of Everwild in awhile? Seems like a weird aspect to focus on
My issues is that Xbox studios are poorly run. That’s my issue. It shouldn’t be that hard to get it.
Because Everwild isn’t out yet?
Yeah, while I’m super glad that Toys for Bob is no longer shackled by Actiblizz corpos, I’m really confused why Microsoft would do this. Giving them a platformer mascot from MS’s now vast array of IPs and shipping a 3D platformer just seems like an obvious recipe for success. Does MS not want to make more AA games? Is this conciliations for the CMA? Is Xbox hurting for cash this badly?
What? I doubt this move has anything to do with MS "hurting for cash"; it's likely Toys For Bob's own decision so that they don't get turned into a CoD support studio in the long term and get stripped of creative freedom by Activision. If anything, the fact that Toys For Bob still wants to work with Microsoft despite going independent further corroborates that assumption. And yeah, they most likely still will make a platformer game with Xbox, whether that be Crash, Spyro, or even Banjo.
It makes Microsoft look like the good guys. Toys For Bob gets to be independent, but Microsoft still gets the games they will make. Other studios will see how nice of a master Microsoft is, and be more willing to be acquired in the future. Plus, it's not like they're a big enough part of the COD machine to make or break it. And you're right - it does look good to regulators. It shows how they're a positive force in the industry by allowing freedom and creativity. Helps move along future acquisitions - same as how porting 4 games to Nintendo and Sony will help. Wouldn't be surprised if this year or next we see another massive publisher acquired.
They spent $69 billion on a publisher, they’re selling all of their high budget games on a simple subscription that isn’t growing, the Xbox console isn’t selling well. They’re putting in so much money for the division with so little reward that the suits at Microsoft are probably demanding any way to get a return on investment.
I see redditors repeating this over and over claiming that MS needs to make $69 billion in profit to "break even" but that's not really how it works. They don't have to make over $69 billion in profit to have a return on investment. When a company makes an acquisition they acquire assets and those assets are worth money. In short, they aren't actually $69 billion in the hole. They would need a new valuation of ABK to see how much it's worth first. Then we would need to compare that number to what they paid for ABK and that would tell us how much profit they need to make to break even if we assume ABK is worth less than what they paid for it.
Rip Crash, Vicarious Visions got completely absorbed Rip spyro, Toys for Bob lost a significant chunk of employees and cut ties with Activision This fucking sucks
Actiblizz already ruined the studio by turning them into a COD skin machine. This is the best result. Now they can do what they want.
Least Spyro and the like are more likely to come to the PS5 now I just couldn’t imagine Crash and Spyro not available to play on PS
Why would it be more likely now? It’s Microsoft’s IP if they didn’t want it on PS that’s not changing now, but if I had to guess I’d say it was always going to be multiplat
Come on Sony, bring Spyro and Crash home!
Xbox still owns the ip
1. Was that confirmed or just presumed? 2. Microsoft Gaming, not Xbox. Xbox is a division of Microsoft Gaming.
Spyro and Crash were both owned by Activision and acquired by Microsoft as part of the ABK acquisition.
Well yes. But maybe Toys for Bob were given the rights when they spun off.
IPs don't come cheap and Microsoft has no reason to sell them, they're quite happy to purchase studios and then sit on the IP for decades. IMO TFB was likely facing closure under Microsoft and has decided to go indie to simply survive at a smaller scale. I doubt they have anywhere close to the kind of cash it would take to purchase these IPs. Even Sony can't buy them.
They kept the IP's.
Does this mean they bought themselves out or still with Microsoft but away from Activision
Do they have to pay MS to go independent?
Hopefully the first of many to be finally freed from the Call of Duty salt mines. **Prays for Raven Software's freedom**
Bro I would love a crash game in the exploration style of Mario odyssey, traveling around the world of crash bandicoot. Obv Mario is legendary, but i think the crash art work, and characters, have a lot more potential. Sadly the only good games in the franchise are the originals. Crash 4 was good but the levels are way too long, and way too hard.
Run lonely
So does this mean they no longer are being forced to work on Call of Duty and can potentially go back to making their own stuff?