Microsoft Game Studios
Current Microsoft Studios logo
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| Division | |
| Industry |
Interactive entertainment Video game industry |
| Headquarters | Redmond, Washington, U.S. |
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Key people
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Phil Spencer (Head of Microsoft Studios) Shannon Loftis (General Manager of First-Party Publishing) Larry Hryb (Director of Programming For Xbox Live) |
| Products |
Game consoles Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One Games for Windows Games for Windows Phone Xbox Live Kinect Games Age of Empires series Banjo-Kazooie series Crackdown series Forza Motorsport series Gears of War series Halo series Killer Instinct series Microsoft Flight Simulator Minecraft Perfect Dark series |
| Parent | Microsoft |
| Subsidiaries |
343 Industries ID@Xbox Lift London Mojang Rare The Coalition Turn 10 |
| Website | microsoftstudios |
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Games for Windows, Steam, Windows Store, and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the already released Xbox, before being re-branded in 2011. The subsidiary had also been known as Microsoft Game Division and simply Microsoft Games before 2002. Microsoft Studios develops and publishes games in conjunction with first and third party development studios under their publishing label.
In 2007, Microsoft Studios announced the opening of a European office in Reading, England, headed by general manager Phil Spencer. It disbanded FASA Studio, best known for their work on the MechWarrior series. Former Halo developer Bungie announced that they would split from Microsoft Studios in order to become a privately held independent company. Peter Moore leaves Microsoft Studios to join Electronic Arts as the head of the company's sports division on July 17, 2007, and Don Mattrick joins Microsoft Studios as Senior Vice President in July 2007.
In 2008, Microsoft Studios disbanded casual games studio Carbonated Games, announced the formation of Xbox Live Productions to develop "high-quality digital content" for Xbox Live Arcade. It also began to recruit for 343 Industries to take over development of the Halo franchise after the former developer, Bungie, regained independent status. 343 Industries was first officially revealed as steward of the Halo series in mid-2009 with the announcement of the animated project, Halo Legends.
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