Ensemble Studios. FASA Interactive. Bungie. Rare. LionHead. One thing that console manufacturers are forced to do is acquire independent game developers that will create the first-party titles every console needs at launch and throughout its lifespan.
#5 – Real Time Worlds
In fifth place, we have Real Time Worlds. The studio behind Crackdown might be a relatively new company, but the talented team headed by Dave Jones - founder of DMA Design - has a long history of creating great video games, including Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto.
With the release of Crackdown, the new company proved it can deliver a complex project in time and include all of the features it promised on paper. However, the biggest reason I think Microsoft should buy the Scottish developer is its second project.
All Points Bulletin (or APB), which will be published by WEBZEN, is a massively multiplayer online game that really takes the sandbox genre to a whole new level. The drop in, drop out co-op action seen in Crackdown will look outdated compared to the experience APB will offer.
#4 – Gearbox Software
This is another rising developer that has moved from making ports such as Halo for the PC to create a brand new franchise: Brothers in Arms.
The company is currently working on the third installment of Brothers in Arms, titled Hell’s Highway, for publisher Ubisoft.
#3 – Crytek
Few developers are instantly thrust into the spotlight after the release of their first title. But when Crytek released Far Cry, it had everyone talking about their game and the engine that powered the tropical first-person shooter.
Ubisoft liked what Crytek did so much that it acquired the Far Cry license and the use of the Cry Engine. But things didn’t stop there, as Crytek also flirted with Electronic Arts, a publisher that has a great eye for talent and the money to acquire brute diamonds.
#2 – Valve Software
Valve is another studio that became one of the world’s most renowned developers after releasing its first title. Founded in 1996 by two Microsoft veterans, Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, the company became famous after releasing Half-Life in 1998.
The acquisition of Valve Software would not only give its buyer the rights to the Half-Life, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, Day of Defeat and Portal franchises, but also access to the Steam content delivery service.
#1 – Epic Games
Is there any doubt of which game studio would rank first in a list of must-buy game developers? With its extremely successful Unreal Engine 3 engine, which has been licensed by almost every publisher, and its Unreal game series, Epic Games is the hottest game developer around.
The release of Gears of War proved that Epic Games can create a game other than an Unreal first-person shooter, and it doesn’t have to be a deathmatch multiplayer game to sell million of copies.
The acquisition of Epic Games by Microsoft would be an extremely smart move, reminiscent of Chess Grandmaster Kasparov. Not only would Microsoft be securing the Unreal franchise for Windows and Xbox, it will impede Sony, Nintendo and any other publisher from ever getting the Unreal technology. As a result, the only way to see Unreal visuals would be to get an Xbox or a Windows computer
Runner Ups
Starbreeze - Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Darkness
id Software - DOOM, Quake and Wolfenstein
Bizarre Creations - PGR series, Boom Boom Rocket, The Club
Nerve Software - DOOM 3 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War, Quake Enemy Territories
From Software - Otogi and its sequel, Tenchu Z, Chromehounds, and Armored Core 4.
Source
#5 – Real Time Worlds
In fifth place, we have Real Time Worlds. The studio behind Crackdown might be a relatively new company, but the talented team headed by Dave Jones - founder of DMA Design - has a long history of creating great video games, including Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto.
With the release of Crackdown, the new company proved it can deliver a complex project in time and include all of the features it promised on paper. However, the biggest reason I think Microsoft should buy the Scottish developer is its second project.
All Points Bulletin (or APB), which will be published by WEBZEN, is a massively multiplayer online game that really takes the sandbox genre to a whole new level. The drop in, drop out co-op action seen in Crackdown will look outdated compared to the experience APB will offer.
#4 – Gearbox Software
This is another rising developer that has moved from making ports such as Halo for the PC to create a brand new franchise: Brothers in Arms.
The company is currently working on the third installment of Brothers in Arms, titled Hell’s Highway, for publisher Ubisoft.
#3 – Crytek
Few developers are instantly thrust into the spotlight after the release of their first title. But when Crytek released Far Cry, it had everyone talking about their game and the engine that powered the tropical first-person shooter.
Ubisoft liked what Crytek did so much that it acquired the Far Cry license and the use of the Cry Engine. But things didn’t stop there, as Crytek also flirted with Electronic Arts, a publisher that has a great eye for talent and the money to acquire brute diamonds.
#2 – Valve Software
Valve is another studio that became one of the world’s most renowned developers after releasing its first title. Founded in 1996 by two Microsoft veterans, Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, the company became famous after releasing Half-Life in 1998.
The acquisition of Valve Software would not only give its buyer the rights to the Half-Life, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, Day of Defeat and Portal franchises, but also access to the Steam content delivery service.
#1 – Epic Games
Is there any doubt of which game studio would rank first in a list of must-buy game developers? With its extremely successful Unreal Engine 3 engine, which has been licensed by almost every publisher, and its Unreal game series, Epic Games is the hottest game developer around.
The release of Gears of War proved that Epic Games can create a game other than an Unreal first-person shooter, and it doesn’t have to be a deathmatch multiplayer game to sell million of copies.
The acquisition of Epic Games by Microsoft would be an extremely smart move, reminiscent of Chess Grandmaster Kasparov. Not only would Microsoft be securing the Unreal franchise for Windows and Xbox, it will impede Sony, Nintendo and any other publisher from ever getting the Unreal technology. As a result, the only way to see Unreal visuals would be to get an Xbox or a Windows computer
Runner Ups
Starbreeze - Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Darkness
id Software - DOOM, Quake and Wolfenstein
Bizarre Creations - PGR series, Boom Boom Rocket, The Club
Nerve Software - DOOM 3 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War, Quake Enemy Territories
From Software - Otogi and its sequel, Tenchu Z, Chromehounds, and Armored Core 4.
Source
