Tell that to Halo 12

"Microsoft Does Not Force Its Studios to Develop Sequels for other games, they force them to make sequels only for Halo, Forza and Gears games only"

Article Title fixed, I mean seriously they created a Gears RTS ?, seriously pretty sure nobody asked for that.

Gears and Halo say different I don't see 343 or the Coalition working on newer franchises they only work on the next installments of Gears and Halo.

Lying through their teeth.

When Bungie wanted to leave, Microsoft made them sign a 2 year contract to make 2 more Halo games before they could leave. After they left they threw 343 Industries into Halo purgatory.

They cancelled Black Tusk Studios'(now Coalition) new IP so they can make Gears of War.

"X" Doubt

People seem to forget studios and devs are often the biggest fans of the franchises they create. They make sequela because they live the games, story, world, etc, and want to make more.

What?? They have sequels already...Forizon,Halo,Gears,C rackdown & State Of Decay. Hellblade 2? Outer Worlds 2?

The freedom isn’t free and it’s well within reason. If coalition says screw gears and they end up making 2 flops in a row of course Microsoft is going to get involved. Your free reign only lasts as long as your competency. That’s not just Microsoft it’s any business. Most big companies don’t even give the taste of freedom for that reason.

Hmm...MS didn't force Bungie to keep pumping out Halo? Was 343 given the green light to make a new IP after Halo 5?
I'm not sold on this claim.

it's funny seeing MS always running their mouth like this time and time again when they are doing the exact opposite of it. less talking, more doing, MS!

Yet The Coalition, 343i and Turn 10 are bound to one IP each. All the other Xbox Studios seem to have much more creative freedom. I don’t think there is anything wrong with making sequels to games in long running franchises. Especially, when the games do well and fans want more.

343 next game will be a new ip confirmed. The 10 yr halo support all make sense now. While a smaller team adds new content and expansions. The main team works on a new ip that'll drop 5 years later. Then a halo sequel 5 years after that completing infinite 10 year support.

Microsoft doesn’t force anyone to make sequels but they been thriving off what 3 titles pretty much lol not here to start an argument but it may not be force but more than likely they say we HIGHLY RECOMMEND you make a sequel lol

So... is he implying that Sony or other studios force a sequel on their developers?
Well, whatever he's on about Microsoft are still lagging behind the competition. They do a better job at talking it up then actually producing top quality exclusives or new IP's just the same old games with a new location or story.

Don't say crap like that when you know full well that you have 4 studios that are dedicated to pumping out Gears,Forza and Halo.
Sony only have one and thats Polyphony Digital.
It's always their problem of not be able to zip their mouths then we get facepalm news like this.

They just make studios specifically to for sequels/continue franchises.

If a franchise is solid with depth/lore and expansive exploration and gameplay (ie. Final Fantasy, TES, etc.) why would you ever stop making sequels. Just grow the studio and have multiple IP in the work. Balance existing and new.

They also have a history of not supporting new IPs and relying too much on Halo, Gears and Forza.

PS4 got Ghost of Tsushima, Bloodborne, The Last Guardian, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Spiderman, Death Stranding, Dreams, Detroit, Until Dawn, etc.

Microsoft's output was not even close.

I'll believe it when I see a slew of new IP coming out of Xbox studios.

I don't have anything against them making more Halo, Forza, Gears - they are good games, but that alone is not enough - there has to be new IP coming out of other parts of Xbox.

Ironically, the games we DO want sequels to, haven't had them, or we've had to beg for years (e.g. PD)

How many Halos and Forza now?

Lol! Haha

Tell that to Rare when they were forced to make kinect games and many of the rare studio heads and employees bailed.

Jesus did anyone even read the article before commenting?! Didn't think so. He's just saying that they don't force the sequels on the devs, that they have the freedom to make the what they want. He mentioned Psychonauts 3. Says that game might happen, but he's "not going to tell Tim Schafer he has to make that."

It's sad that so many just bag on MS for "Halo, Gears, Forza" but fail to mention the many games they have put out over the years. Shit, I hear that xbox one had no games, yet I played exclusives from big time devs Remedy, Insomniac, and Capcom last gen. In the 360 era they put out lots of great original ip.

But Suddenly they're just a sequel machine? Look at a dev like Rare. They've been given the freedom to do what they want with Sea of Thieves and now Everwild. They couldve just forced them to make platformers. Most of the new stuff being announced is all new, not just sequel after sequel. I don't understand the negativity. Here is a small list of some of the ip MS has put out that isn't HaloGearsForza:

Quantum Break, ReCore, Dead Rising (3), State of Decay, Sunset overdrive, sea of Thieves, alan wake, Blue Dragon, lost Odyssey, Mass effect, Ori, tell me why, fable, jade empire, project gotham racing, kameo, rare replay, Viva Pinata, Too Human, Killer Instinct,. Ryse, D4: Dark Dreams Dont Die, Phantom Dust, World of Tanks, Costume Quest, Crackdown, Grounded, Battletoads, Perfect Dark, Conker, Banjo.

There's 30 IP that i just thought of off the top of my head from Xbox that are 1 offs or the start of what became a series.

There are lots of games they have put out that aren't the big 3 people seem to bag on. Plus they have 23 in house developers working on stuff that we don't know about. They just bought Bethesda. There's a ton of stuff in the pipeline. Id say they're doing alright and the vast majority of their games aren't sequels.

Id say Sony is more dependant on sequels than MS. How many Uncharted, God of War, Ratchet games have they put out?! Gran Turismo is on its 7th. Sequels are part of gaming so how are people going to shit on one company for doing it while praising another that is just as, if not more, dependant on sequels?!

Absolutely right. They don't force sequels, they force trash sequels.

Why would he have to force anyone to make anything? Phil his leadership team ultimately decide what goes into full production. It is entirely possible to never force a singe studio to make sequels of a game but to have that happen anyway if they cannot get anything else out of pre production.

343i does not need to be forced into making Halo if that is in fact the only game they can get out of preproduction for what ever reasons.

343 and Rare all laughing in their offices right now

Making a sequel is less work. The foundation for the world is already established, so you’re not working with nothing anymore.

Yeah, I spent many a year with my employers NOT being made to do stuff, but guess what? There's more than one way to skin a cat! (That's just a saying! I've no idea if it's true I've never tried to skin one. Phew!)
Just like 'Crunch' is purely optional I guess. Anyway, three strikes and you're out, I say. Name me any game or movie for that matter that produced a good fourth outing.

I find that really difficult to believe. Bold faced lie. 343 Industries hasnt made anything outside of Halo. Turn 10 outside Forza. What a lie.

Or they use "force" very loosely.

What a straight up lie. You are telling me if Bethesda decides there not making anymore Elderscrolls or fallout games, Microsoft is going to be ok with that? I don't believe it for a second.

Same with ID and doom. Microsoft would never let them stop.

Then why wasn’t Destiny an Xbox exclusive?

They do not force. They strongly suggest... ...or else.

Oh so the Gears, Halo and Forza sequels are just serendipitous?

"Microsoft Does Not Force Its Studios to Develop Sequels for their Games"

Remove "Sequels for their" - more accurate headline.

Huh. I wouldn’t have guessed there was no pressure after seeing the rinse + repeat pattern of Halo, Forza, Gears every few years for almost two decades now…

Because they release games anymore lol On a serious note I would be pissed if I bought a xbox series X the lack of games is mind boggling to me.

No it just forced them to make crap for Kinect Until they fell into obscurity. #rare.

Sure /s.

I believe 343 industries is working on one of these "sequels" that all the rubbish competition is carrying on about. I guess it doesn't count if your software company is so devoid of basic math skills that it thinks the sequel to Windows 8 is Windows 10.

well, since forced labor is generally frowned upon and illegal in the developed world, I imagine this is the case with most developers outside of possibly china and a few others.

do you force your studios to make any games at all?

Now that Jim Ryan is gone just need to remove Herman Hulst from his position! And maybe give Shuhei the position he deserved.

This gen hasn't been the best for games, last gen consoles are still out there and now there's been talk of the PS6 and Xbox Two for a year or so. Many games this gen will be ported to next gen and the cycle will continue. The re-release of the Neo Geo AES+, games on cartridge for £70 ($95), gaming is going back in time. Gaming has gone pricing mad with the high cost of games, consoles and controllers. The men and women at the top are clueless.

It’s always interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories like this, especially involving veterans like Shuhei Yoshida and leadership figures like Jim Ryan. That said, there are usually multiple sides to decisions at that level. It could be less about not “listening” and more about differences in long-term vision for PlayStation. Yoshida played a huge role in shaping the brand, so whatever the reason, his impact is undeniable.

If true, and I'm inclined to believe it is, it goes to show that Sony lost their way when they became more western/didn't respect the PlayStation origin story. Andrew House and Jack Tretton did great work, but they also didn't try to fundamentally change the PlayStation DNA. Ryan oversaw the death of Japan Studio and a live service direction.

I already figured this, good lord imagine if Shuhei took over instead, would've been a platinum era 😩

I miss the first three generations of PlayStation. The way they turned PS3 around, we knew they meant business. We were all worried for a bit there around launch. Eventually from 2008 they started shifting slowly. But since Yoshida was fired, it's never been the same. Still enjoy my PS5 daily. I got a backlog dating back to PS2 lol So I'm fine but new games aren't as appealing anymore.

It seems like we were thrown on to the worst timeline possible where everything is too expensive and the wrong people were put in positions that makes the world a shitty place. We could have had Shu as the head of PS but we got the shitty alternative. Same goes for everyone in power around the world. Doesn’t matter the company or country the majority of us got the shitty picks and the world is declining like never before. I do think PS can come out of this because of their studios, talent and IP but they need someone more in touch with gamers leading things like Shu was. They’re still the best place for console gaming imo but it could be much better than it is especially without the massive live service failures. The rest of the world I have a lot less hope for right now. Hopefully the pendulum swings back towards the good ole days but I’m preparing for the worst.

There goes illuminati distraction story

So now there's certifiable proof that Ryan was in fact "fired", as opposed to when it was first announced that he "retired", in order to save face.

There's another guy who recently "retired" as CEO of another large gaming company, after doing a dismantling job as lead for well over a decade.

seems legit, the business man, fires the one who has ideas to move the business forward.

Jim Ryan is the reason why we are entering year 6 since the PS5 launch and many of us don't feel like the PS5 has gotten started as yet.

I hope going forward, we will see a return to form.