So yesterday, we posted a report indicating that Microsoft could be looking to acquire even more studios in 2019, following its pick-up of such talents as Obsidian Entertainment and Ninja Theory. But now a new rumor suggests that the company is looking to strike a blow against Sony by picking up one of its own superstar developers.
The report comes from a Twitter user by the name of Klobrille, who also provided us the details for yesterday’s story. According to them, he noted that Microsoft is in “advanced talks” with this studio, which hasn’t been identified.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Said Klobrille in his tweet, “Let’s make this Monday a bit more interesting. I can say that Xbox is in advanced talks (a few months) with a mid-sized studio that historically worked together with PlayStation a bit. No name dropping because of ongoing negotiations for now, but it’s interesting nonetheless.”
Note the word “mid-sized.” That means it obviously wouldn’t be one of Sony’s AAA teams, like Naughty Dog, but it would instead be with someone the publisher has worked with before, but doesn’t own.
Now, before you go thinking, “Well, Insomniac Games, duh. They worked with Microsoft on Sunset Overdrive and the company obviously wants a sequel,” hold tight. A fellow Twitter user asked Klobrille if it is, in fact, Insomniac, to which he responded, “No.”
So that leaves a rather interesting question up in the air. Who could Microsoft possibly be going after? A number of studios have worked with Sony in the past that could be easy nominees, such as Housemarque, who worked on such shooters as Resogun and Super Stardust HD; as well as Bluepoint Games, who did an amazing job putting together Shadow of the Colossus for PlayStation 4 earlier this year, and has a secret port of another hit game in the works, which could be revealed any day now.
Take the report with a grain of salt, mainly because it’s coming from a user on Twitter with no confirmation of any kind from Microsoft or the studio it’s talking to. But if the company behind the Xbox brand is doing this, it could very well bolster its line-up for its next generation of hardware, as well as a few Xbox One games.
We’ll keep you informed as soon as any announcements are made!