Microsoft Games Studios has a new team called Decisive Games that is working on “the next installment in a beloved strategy game franchise,” according to a job posting on the company’s career site and Linkedin

According to the job description, which was originally posted back in November 2014, the Decisive Games team is focused on world class strategy game development, and is looking for a Senior Software Engineer familiar with DirectX 11 or Xbox 360 and Xbox One rendering APIs.

We’ve written at length about many of the forgotten first-party Microsoft titles that could (and should) be revived, and a number of classic RTS games were on that list including Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and Impossible Creatures. What exactly Decisive Games is working on will likely be a mystery for a good while longer though, as they seem to still be in the early staff hiring phase at the moment.

Along with the excitement over the planned acquisition, Mojang will also be going through another type of transition as Notch has announced his impending departure from the company he founded. According to an announcement on Notch’s personal blog, it would seem that the Minecraft community itself may be partially to blame for the loss of the game’s creator.

I was at home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet exploded with hate against me over some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn’t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and started to realize I didn’t have the connection to my fans I thought I had. I’ve become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand, that I don’t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter.

One of the questions that popped up after the reports of the possible buyout was what exactly would happen to the Minecraft versions currently playable on Playstation, iOS, and Android? As it turns out, they will continue along, despite Microsoft’s rather strained relationship with Sony, Google, and Apple.

What about the other editions of Minecraft? Will they stop being developed?
There’s no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions of Minecraft to stop. Of course, Microsoft can’t make decisions for other companies or predict the choices that they might make in the future.

We’re extremely proud of all editions and the awesome things you have achieved through playing together.

$2.5 billion is a rather large sum of money, so the deal may take a while to finalize. Analysts predict the completion of the acquisition to happen some time in 2015.

The report is particularly extraordinary given Minecraft creator and Mojang founder Markus “Notch” Persson’s notorious commitment to independence, exemplified by his decision to pull the plug on the development of an Oculus Rift version of Minecraft when Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook. But even more to the point is the question of how this acquisition could possibly benefit Microsoft. Minecraft is hugely popular but it’s also hugely cross-platform the PlayStation 4 version launched less than a week ago, and the PS Vita edition is scheduled for November. Mojang’s other game, the collectible card-based Scrolls, has not been as popular as Minecraft

While these reports haven’t been confirmed as of yet, it’s likely that we’ll be hearing more about the topic in the near future from one of the parties involved. Assuming the rumors are indeed true, bringing on Minecraft as a first party title would greatly boost Microsoft’s game development catalog. Released in 2013, Minecraft is the 24th best selling game on the Xbox 360. Sales of Minecraft on PC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PS Vita, iOS, and Android are considerable as well.

Read the entire story at http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/09/10/microsoft-reportedly-in-talks-to-buy-minecraft-studio-mojang/

Back in August of 2013, Age of Empires Online released an announcement of the planned closure of the Games for Windows Live service on July 1, 2014. After quickly removing the announcement, Microsoft has been tight-lipped about the true fate of service. Despite numerousgamestransitioning off of the service, Microsoft has just went along as if nothing had ever happened. Even Ms. Splosion Man, a game created by Microsoft first-party developer Twisted Pixel, has made the jump over to Valve’s Steamworks platform. When your own developers are abandoning ship, it’s clear there is something going on behind the scenes that is prompting it.

Speaking with GameInformer, Microsoft had the following to say:

We are continuing to support the Games for Windows Live service. As previously announced, as part of the retirement of Microsoft Points the Xbox.com PC marketplace was closed. Although customers are unable to purchase new games from the marketplace or receive title updates, they can continue to enjoy previously purchased content by downloading them through the Games for Windows Live client as usual. We remain committed to investing in PC gaming in the years ahead, and look forward to sharing more in the future.

It appears that with Phil Spencer at the helm, things really are changing at Microsoft’s gaming division. What exactly the team plans on doing to re-invent Games for Windows Live is still a mystery at this point. The important question is whether or not customers (and developers) are willing to put their trust in a service that Microsoft has clearly almost abandoned for dead in the recent past.

It would appear as if the camps are broken up into week long sessions. You might want to stop by one of the Microsoft Store locations to verify the length of the camp or get more details. It may also be possible to sign up for more than 1 camp as well so your child could attend a 4 hour daily game coding and game design workshop.

It should be noted though that parents must stay inside of the Microsoft Store throughout the class. Thankfully, Microsoft Stores are filled with lots of cool technology to keep parents entertained for a bit. Be sure to print and sign the consent for located at the bottom of the summer camp page if you’re considering taking your child to one of these events.

Microsoft is offering 4 different classes throughout June, July, and August. Game coding, game design, movie production, and photography classes will teach children fun tech related skills that are sure to make parents feel old and technology-illiterate. According to Microsoft, the classes are filling up fast.

If you’re interested in having your child attend these free summer camp classes, you can RSVP online at http://content.microsoftstore.com/summercamps

In a reply to a tweet he received about the acquisition of the Rise of Nations IP, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer acknowledged the need for Microsoft to improve their current gaming status on the PC.

@Daniel_H_UK I agree that MS needs to up our gaming presence on Windows. Part of my XBOX role is to bring back our Windows gaming focus.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) May 31, 2014

Microsoft has clearly been going through a structural change in recent months, with Satya Nadella stepping in as CEO, Stephen Elop joining as VP of devices and services, and Phil Spencer rising to the head of the Xbox division. With Phil Spencer at the helm of Microsoft’s gaming division, it’s possible that we could finally see some cool stuff coming out for the PC. In a piece we wrote in April of 2014, we explored 10 Microsoft Studios franchises they could revive for the PC. Soon after our article was written, Microsoft announced and released an HD update for Age of Mythology, a game on our list.

With E3 so close, the topics that Mr. Spencer is tweeting about might indicate more about Microsoft’s short-term plans than you might think. By the time a person gets to that level in a corporation, it’s very likely they’ll have handlers assigned to their official social media pages, as well as approved and unapproved topics. It’s almost a given that Microsoft is in some stage of development with a new Age of Empires game. Combine that with sequels to Age of Mythology and Rise of Nations, suddenly Microsoft’s captured a significant portion of the RTS landscape on PC. A cross-platform release of a previously Xbox One exclusive game like Forza or Halo could really change things in a major way.  Of course this is all crazy theory at this point, but hopefully some of the wiser heads at Microsoft are thinking about these PC scenarios as a real possibility.

Microsoft’s current strategy for everything is convergence, even if that means completely screwing up Windows in the process. Windows looks like a smart phone, Xbox One looks like a smart phone, Surface tablets look like a smart phone, smart phones just look like themselves. You probably get the point here. With Microsoft trying to tie all of their devices together in some way, it’s curious how they’ve managed to ignore one of the most widely used functions of their top product. Even with Microsoft moving to become more of a services based company, they still make a huge portion of their profit from selling copies of Windows to OEM PC manufacturers. Gamers moving to Mac is not a huge concern at this point, but with Valve set to unleash their Linux-powered Steam Machines, Microsoft could actually lose a decent amount of their profit over time.

As Daniel Hartshorn clearly demonstrated, for some ungodly reason there’s still PC gamers that are resistant to Steam. While much of Microsoft’s gaming core is currently hunched over on their couch, guzzling Mountain Dew out of the bottle, there’s clearly a portion of that crowd that (given the right push) could also occupy the PC market as well. While we pray each and every day that Lord Gaben will enlighten the console peasants and help them ascend to the glorious PC Gaming Master Race, could it be possible that the potato masters themselves will join the cause? Or rather, could a renewed focus on the PC market actually be a serious attempt to circumvent Steam? If so, could Microsoft be any more successful than Origin or Uplay has to date? While insanely unlikely, some type of collaboration from Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft could actually be a serious competitor to Valve’s platform when it comes to major titles.

At the very least, it looks like we’ll need to wait until E3 to find out what Microsoft has in store for us.

A quick look at the publishing history of Microsoft Studios reveals a drastic decline in first party titles being developed and released by the developer. With the original XBox being released in 2001, it’s not a huge stretch to imagine where Microsoft’s gaming focus went. It’s quite sad really when you look at the caliber of titles that Microsoft has produced for PC in the past. Popular, even genre defining, first party titles have been produced by Microsoft in years past.

The PC game publishing history of Microsoft is quite vast. On top of making great games, Microsoft’s dedication to PC gaming in the past has been a driving force behind many technologies such as dual-monitors, cloud support, and of course DirectX itself. We’ve put together a wishlist of our top 10 games that we’d love to see Microsoft bring back from the dead, or at the very least port to the PC.

Not all of these will be PC titles, all of them are first party titles published by Microsoft Studios though. We specifically tried to look for titles that would fit well with current PC game trends and also could be considered dead.

Why should PC gamers be upset about all this? Forza 5 is not coming to PC. Why port a console exclusive game to PC that you’ll never release to the public? The Forza 5 DirectX 12 demo is  just another in a long line of Microsoft’s recent blunders. It really makes you wonder why on earth they would show how possible this is while at the same time denying fans the chance to play it.

There’s a big reason racing games tend to debut around the same time as the console launches, racing games are console sellers. Gran Turismo is largely responsible for Sony’s success with PS2 and PS3. The GT series is so influential in fact that it was credited with bringing the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution to the United States. The Forza Motorsport series as well is a huge console seller for Microsoft. While it’s pretty clear that Microsoft has a working copy of Forza 5 ported to PC it may just be a fancied up tech demo and not the full game itself. A quick check at the sales charts for the Xbox One suggest Forza 5 is Microsoft’s 3rd best selling game (at time of writing). It’s also important to note that Forza 5 is the only next-gen racing simulator available on either the PS4 or Xbox One. Microsoft has sent a clear message that if you are a racing sim fan you need to buy an Xbox One.

Obviously Microsoft stands to lose more than they gain by porting a popular console exclusive to PC. The more you think about it the more it just sounds insane. Why on earth would Microsoft port Forza 5 to PC just to show off that they can? It just comes across like a big kick in the teeth for fans of the series that won’t be buying an Xbox One. Microsoft has earned a lot of mistrust in the eyes of gamers in the past year. This stunt at GDC should serve as an example to other developers of how to create bad blood with people who weren’t likely to be your customer. You don’t see Apple showing off how easily their iPhone could run the more powerful Android OS. Square Enix went to great lengths to show fans what a Final Fantasy VII port for PS3 would look like. The end result was fan disappointment when the port never materialized. Microsoft should have never shown off Forza 5 on PC. Fans know now that it’s a thing that could happen easily, and we want what we can never have.

Shame on you Microsoft for teasing me with the game that I want to play but never will because the entrance fee is just too steep to justify for one game.

If you’ve given up on that dream of playing a Turn 10 game on PC, you can grab a copy of Forza Motorsport 5 for Xbox One on Amazon.com.

Hey Everyone!

We just want to send out a quick update to share some good news. Thanks to a new agreement we were able to negotiate with our partners at Microsoft, Harebrained Schemes is pleased to announce that we are now able to release fully DRM-free versions of Shadowrun Returns and future expansions such as Berlin.

The DRM-free versions of SRR and Berlin will continue to be fully supported. You’ll be able to download all game patches, use the Shadowrun Returns editor and experience user-generated content downloaded from third-party sites such as Nexus.

We’re starting work to get Shadowrun Returns available on GOG.com right now – not sure how long that will take but we’ll let you know as soon as we have an answer.

We’re very excited we’re finally able to offer Shadowrun DRM-free to everyone and look forward to making it available!

Take care,

HBS

Thanks Microsoft for not being complete jerks. Sorry about the Xbox One.

Simply put, many games were just not made on anything but Windows. Fast forward to 2013 and Microsoft has found itself in a much different gaming landscape. Nintendo has all but captured the handheld and under 10 market. Sony is looking at snapping up at least 60% market share in the home console sector, and now Valve is looking at taking a piece of both the console and PC gaming market with their upcoming Steam Machine.

It’s no surprise then that Microsoft is looking to improve on their dismal performance when it comes to developing PC games in the past half decade.