Restructuring at Microsoft, closure of TiMi Montreal, the kickoff of "Game On".
- Of course, you're aware of the main news that broke over the weekend. Major changes have taken place within the gaming division of Microsoft. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has retired, while Sarah Bond, who held the position of Xbox President and was considered his protégé, has resigned. Asha Sharma, who previously served as President of CoreAI at the company, has been appointed as the new CEO of the Redmond-based company's gaming business. Head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, has been promoted to Chief Content Officer.
- The news of the resignations caused a bombshell effect. We are preparing a detailed separate article about the situation, but for now—within the scope of this format—we'll note that there are already speculations about the impending demise of the Game Pass subscription and that Sharma, with her AI background, is allegedly going to mandate game teams to integrate neural networks into their production processes.
- Tencent has closed its Canadian studio, TiMi Montreal. The studio was founded by Ashraf Ismail, who previously led the development of games such as Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The studio launched in July 2021 and was supposed to create open-world AAA projects. Over five years of operation, TiMi Montreal not only didn't release a single game but also didn't announce any projects.
- The most important news for developers creating games for the PC platform is undoubtedly the start of the "Game On" festival on Steam on February 23. For teams, participating in this event is an opportunity to gain additional visibility, grow wish lists, and gather feedback from teams. Many have likely prepared content for it and are now watching the numbers closely.