In a recent longform interview, Microsoft elaborated on plans for a few upcoming Xbox One titles, including ReCore, Crackdown 3, and Quantum Break. They also discussed in some length the struggles of their latest console, but for those of you intimately familiar with the details, I will cut the wheat from the chaff and tell you what’s what on Xbox One’s upcoming second party exclusives.
Quantum Break has made a lot of changes, following Team Xbox’s recommitting to core gamers. If you may not remember, Remedy and Xbox Entertainment Studios were working to make a TV show alongside the shooter, and you were supposed to watch the two together to get the whole gist of the story.
Xbox Entertainment Studios was recently closed, and so these broader plans to bring together TV/movies and video games have also been shuttled. Quantum Break the TV show is still coming, but is no longer required viewing for gamers playing the third person shooter. Microsoft also revealed they envisioned Quantum Break as a shooter above all else anyway.
If Quantum Break is mitigating risks for Microsoft, Crackdown 3 will still be risky, but Microsoft isn’t the one taking risks. This time, its Crackdown 3 developer Cloudgine, under the watchful eye of founder Dave Jones. Dave is building Crackdown 3 with a new cloud based engine, and getting a lot of support from Microsoft and their Azure servers. Unlike Fable Legends, this push for the cloud was initiated by Dave and Cloudgine, not Microsoft.
As Microsoft puts it, Cloudgine’s work is changing how Azure’s servers work. Microsoft and Cloudgine see a lot of potential in their work on cloud computing, which promises a significant upgrade in how responsive the technology is.
There’s considerably less information ReCore, which is presumably in the earliest stages of development. What developer Armature can say is that 1) it’s a throwback to older game types like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid (think dungeon / Castlevania instead of open world), and 2) Armature’s ‘runway has been cleared’ so they can dispense with features like Kinect and even Smartglass, and so the studio will focus on just making a good game.
There is one final, curious note, about how Microsoft is handling cross platform gaming between Xbox One and Windows 10. We know Lionhead’s Fable Legends and Rare’s Sea of Thieves are being developed for both platforms at the same time. Meanwhile, some other Xbox One games, like Killer Instinct and Gears of War Ultimate Edition, are getting late ports to Windows 10.
Halo 5, however, may not be coming to Windows anytime soon. When asked about this, 343 Industries head and Microsoft Studios Corporate VP Bonnie Ross alluded that now is not the time. She did point to the mobile Halo games (Halo Spartan Assault and Spartan Strike), Halo Wars 2, and the Halo Waypoint social platform.
She then said this:
It’s being deliberate. So yes. We will, of course, play a critical role on Windows 10 (sic), as I think that we’re an important IP for the company. It’s doing the right thing at the right time.
Which of these games are you looking forward to on Xbox One, or maybe on Windows 10? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Image is from Crackdown 3.
