I think MS will shut Double Fine after The Keeper

DR3AM

Dreams of a world where inflated review scores save studios
Unless the game sell 4 trillion units, no way MS keeps DF alive. Games these just cost way too much and development takes too long for a weird game the keeper.
Same with Compsion Games (South of Midnight) and Ninja Theory (Hellblade 2). Give it a few months and they are #rip
 
Anyone really think Microsoft bought Double Fine believing they were getting a AAA multimillion unit sales studio? All they do is make great games. Why they bought Compulsion, I have no idea, but to put Compulsion and Double Fine in the same bucket is bizarre to me. Ninja Theory could be really good if they would stop making Hellblade games.
 
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Unless the game sell 4 trillion units, no way MS keeps DF alive. Games these just cost way too much and development takes too long for a weird game the keeper.
Same with Compsion Games (South of Midnight) and Ninja Theory (Hellblade 2). Give it a few months and they are #rip
They specifically bought many of the studios you mention above due to their small size and unusual style of games they make, many of which are niche. To enrich their lineup with lots of diverse games.

No one is expecting Double Fine to do anything other than what they have always done. They are a small studio, they don't cost very much. If they release quality games that help Xbox keep a healthy catalogue of games coming to Game Pass, that is all Xbox needs them to do to justify keeping them alive.

In the grand scheme of things, they are a rounding error.
 
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All they do is make great games.
Larry Shrug GIF by Curb Your Enthusiasm
 
Unless the game sell 4 trillion units, no way MS keeps DF alive. Games these just cost way too much and development takes too long for a weird game the keeper.
Same with Compsion Games (South of Midnight) and Ninja Theory (Hellblade 2). Give it a few months and they are #rip
If they were worried about "4 trillion units" they would have released on PS5 and Switch. The game looks like it has a modest budget and nothing to worry about.
 
Isn't double fine the same studio making a game where you play as a walking lighthouse? That game looked so bizarre and out there that i don't see who the audience is for that exactly. It looked like a game with little to no story, and it's bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. I can't see that game doing well commercially and i think it's going to bomb sadly. No idea what they were thinking with that concept.
 
I kind of feel like they could end up splitting off from Microsoft and going back to being independent (again?) — didn't this happen once before in the early 2000's after Psychonauts shipped? Would be hilarious is Schafer decided to take the money and run again.

I will say, as a fan, they are small but they move much too slow. The least Microsoft could do is let them staff up and just bust a killer nut of a game – Psychonauts level of inventiveness, single player campaign with AAA production polish. That's what I want from them.

This walking lighthouse shit isn't grabbing me. It looks like it was cheap to make because there's no voice acting or need for mo-cap.
 
Anyone really think Microsoft bought Double Fine believing they were getting a AAA multimillion unit sales studio? All they do is make great games. Why they bought Compulsion, I have no idea, but to put Compulsion and Double Fine in the same bucket is bizarre to me. Ninja Theory could be really good if they would stop making Hellblade games.
hahahahaha

Double Fine is one of the most overrated studios in existence. Their fucking games suck.
 
Anyone really think Microsoft bought Double Fine believing they were getting a AAA multimillion unit sales studio? All they do is make great games. Why they bought Compulsion, I have no idea, but to put Compulsion and Double Fine in the same bucket is bizarre to me. Ninja Theory could be really good if they would stop making Hellblade games.

Debatable and I love Double Fine's creativity. Further, a lot has changed since Double Fine's acquisition.

edit: The Keeper doesn't feel like the type of game that is going to have broad appeal.
 
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They specifically bought many of the studios you mention above due to their small size and unusual style of games they make, many of which are niche. To enrich their lineup with lots of diverse games.

No one is expecting Double Fine to do anything other than what they have always done. They are a small studio, they don't cost very much. If they release quality games that help Xbox keep a healthy catalogue of games coming to Game Pass, that is all Xbox needs them to do to justify keeping them alive.

In the grand scheme of things, they are a rounding error.

I disagree with OP's take but everything you wrote could also have been said about Tango Gameworks.

Who could have predicted that Microsoft would have given them the boot after Hi-Fi Rush? Ghostwire Tokyo didn't light the world on fire but it was fairly positively received on both platforms. They were a perfect niche studio that could have added more style to the Game Pass library.

It's pointless to try and predict what Microsoft may or may not do because I don't even think they know from moment-to-moment what they want to do.
 
Anyone really think Microsoft bought Double Fine believing they were getting a AAA multimillion unit sales studio? All they do is make great games. Why they bought Compulsion, I have no idea, but to put Compulsion and Double Fine in the same bucket is bizarre to me. Ninja Theory could be really good if they would stop making Hellblade games.
yep i loved DMC (dozens of us) but the fact that Hellblade 2 had somebody getting paid to design gameplay is beyond hilarious, game is pure trash top to bottom.
 
I disagree with OP's take but everything you wrote could also have been said about Tango Gameworks.

Who could have predicted that Microsoft would have given them the boot after Hi-Fi Rush? Ghostwire Tokyo didn't light the world on fire but it was fairly positively received on both platforms. They were a perfect niche studio that could have added more style to the Game Pass library.

It's pointless to try and predict what Microsoft may or may not do because I don't even think they know from moment-to-moment what they want to do.

It's a bit of a different situation as Tango was part of Zenimax and, to put it charitably, not exactly the reason why Microsoft made the investment. Double Fine wasn't part of a larger deal, which probably bodes well for them not having the same fate as Tango.
 
The trailer looked great

The Keeper looks like a game made by a small team, like Stacking or Iron Brigade. I don't think Microsoft would shut down Double Fine because of it.

I assume that Double Fine is working on other games.
 
I disagree with OP's take but everything you wrote could also have been said about Tango Gameworks.

Who could have predicted that Microsoft would have given them the boot after Hi-Fi Rush? Ghostwire Tokyo didn't light the world on fire but it was fairly positively received on both platforms. They were a perfect niche studio that could have added more style to the Game Pass library.

It's pointless to try and predict what Microsoft may or may not do because I don't even think they know from moment-to-moment what they want to do.
I agree it's pointless to predict and things are always evolving all the time. But I think Double fine in particular is small and relatively safe vs something like Tango. Closing Double fine wouldn't save them hardly any money and they've already closed enough studios. It's time for Xbox to put up or shut up about having a healthy, sustainable business. They've shrunk down enough, show us the games and keep doubling down on awesome things like Play Anywhere, moving to handheld, and Xbox Cloud.

I would love a native Xbox handheld that can dock to a TV and work as seamlessly as a Switch, but near or at the power of a Series X when plugged in. I'd buy the shit out of that.
 
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I don't think Keeper is the only game they are working on.
It needs more Tim Shaffer dialogue to be a major Doublefine game. He has to be writing a different game.
I hope.
 
Isn't double fine the same studio making a game where you play as a walking lighthouse? That game looked so bizarre and out there that i don't see who the audience is for that exactly. It looked like a game with little to no story, and it's bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. I can't see that game doing well commercially and i think it's going to bomb sadly. No idea what they were thinking with that concept.

Yeah, that's Keeper.

And you're right it looks weird for the sake of being weird, like a demo out of one of their "game jams" that they unfortunately decided to put resources and time into
 
Anyone really think Microsoft bought Double Fine believing they were getting a AAA multimillion unit sales studio? All they do is make great games. Why they bought Compulsion, I have no idea, but to put Compulsion and Double Fine in the same bucket is bizarre to me. Ninja Theory could be really good if they would stop making Hellblade games.
LMFAO!!!
 
hahahahaha

Double Fine is one of the most overrated studios in existence. Their fucking games suck.

Going to get hate for this, but I agree and never got the appeal of their games. They make weird unfun trash games. They are very unique with their wacky ideas, but they are also consistently boring as hell.
 
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Double Fine is such a weird studio. They have a shockingly high reputation for a company that has released predominantly "meh" titles.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the Psychonauts IP, I don't think I'd have anything good to say about their work. I don't think I'll ever forgive them for the wasted potential that was Brutal Legend.
 
Psychonauts 2 was great up until they pulled the "AHA GOTCHA!!" moment with the two dudes being gay and married out of nowhere or they were at least a couple.

Dont give two shits about them after that
 
Unless the game sell 4 trillion units, no way MS keeps DF alive. Games these just cost way too much and development takes too long for a weird game the keeper.
Same with Compsion Games (South of Midnight) and Ninja Theory (Hellblade 2). Give it a few months and they are #rip
Did Hellblade 2 underperform? Seemed like they worked on that game for 7 years.
 
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