E3 2018: 13 Biggest WTF Moments

Despite the brim-full bevvy of trailers and reveals of some solid (if familiar) triple-A exclusives for the Xbox, Microsoft’s biggest and most hopeful piece of news about the company brand was when Phil Spencer came out and spoke about the roster of new first-party studios.

Firstly, there was The Initiative, a Microsoft created developer to be led by the ex-head of Crystal Dynamics Darell Gallhager - sounds good but we all knew it was coming.

Then it was continued that regular Microsoft contributors Undead Labs (State Of Decay) and Playground Games (Forza Horizon) were both making welcome if unsurprising additions to the permanent Xbox family.

But Spencer still didn’t let up, hitting us with a two-hit combo of awesomeness; Microsoft now owns the incredibly unique and talented studio Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice) as well as young and exciting indie developer Compulsion Games (We Happy Few).

Of course, it’ll be a while before this big move can pay-off with all their new I.P.’s in early days and most likely launching on the next console generation. Still, it showed that Spencer was willing to put his money where his mouth was when it attempting to build the brand and direct to a bright future.