Xbox Game Studios

Xbox Game Studios

Formerly	Microsoft Games (2000–2001) Microsoft Game Studios (2001–2011) Microsoft Studios (2011–2019)
Type	Division
Founded	March 2000 (2000-03)
Headquarters	Redmond, Washington, US
Key people	Matt Booty (acting head)
Parent company	Xbox
Links	Website

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Xbox Game Studios (formerly Microsoft Studios) is an American video game publisher and division of Xbox. The company bought Mojang Studios, developers of Minecraft, on November 6, 2014 for US$2.5 billion. The studio helped with cross platform play across various editions of Minecraft, including mobile, PC and console versions in Bedrock Edition. The studio also currently manages the Bedrock Edition of the game.

Franchises

Banjo-Kazooie

Beginning in 1998, Banjo-Kazooie is a series of platformer games developed by Rare, revolving around the bear Banjo and the breegull Kazooie fighting the evil witch Gruntilda. Secondary to the protagonists are the mole Bottles, the shaman Mumbo Jumbo, Gruntilda's minion Klungo, and Banjo's little sister Tooty. The series is known for its dry sense of humor, numerous collectibles, and influence on later platformers.

After a long hiatus, the series briefly returned in 2008 with the game Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which was considered a radical departure from the rest of the franchise, focusing more on vehicle creation over platforming. As part of the promotion for the game, the prior two entries were rereleased on the Xbox 360, remade by 4J Studios. In 2012, several characters from the franchise made an appearance as skins in Skin Pack 1. Updated skins would later appear in the 2nd Birthday Skin Pack. Coincidentally, both Steve and Banjo would be represented in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of the Fighter Pass.

Conker

Cover for Conker's Bad Fur Day.

Released in 2001, Conker's Bad Fur Day is a platform game created by Rare. The project originated as Twelve Tales: Conker 64, a conventional "cutesy" platforming game, however following initial feedback the game was overhauled into a raunchy comedy aimed at adult audiences. The final release follows Conker, a cynical alcoholic squirrel who awakens in the Panther Kingdom after a hangover, and has to go on an adventure home or else risk becoming the leg of a table. The game received critical acclaim for its sense of humor, but ended up underperforming due to releasing late into the lifespan of the Nintendo 64.

In 2005, a remake of the game was released on the original Xbox, titled Conker: Live & Reloaded. This iteration of Conker would appear in the skin packs Skin Pack 3 and 2nd Birthday Skin Pack.

Jet Force Gemini

Promotional artwork for Jet Force Gemini.

Released in 1999, Jet Force Gemini is a third-person shooter developed by Rare. The game revolves around three characters, the siblings Juno and Vela with the wardog Lupus, who fight in the titular galactic enforcement force and work to defeat the evil Mizar. The three protagonists would go on to appear in Skin Pack 2.

Viva Piñata

Promotional artwork for the series.

Beginning in 2006, Viva Piñata is a life simulator franchise developed by Rare, centering around the restoration of a garden on Piñata Island. The player is tasked with breeding and attracting various species of Piñata, with some games featuring up to 100 distinct types. The series would get a total of four installments up to 2012, when several characters from the games would appear in Skin Pack 2. Two of these characters would reappear with updated skins in the 2nd Birthday Skin Pack, with Fudgehog replacing Fizzlybear.

Minecraft

Minecraft is an 3D Sandbox Video Game developed by Mojang Studios in 2009 and released in 2011. It has two platforms, Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Including a Education Edition that would come later on to the game. It was bought by Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5B and has since become a subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios. It would later have merchandise and plushies and would become accessible to almost all platforms.

Gallery

Photographs

• 
  A pig plush by an Xbox One

Promotions

• 
  An Xbox 360 included in a giveaway for Minecraft: Papercraft Studio.

Hardware

• 
  Promo for an Xbox Series S set in a jungle.
• 
  An Xbox model styled after a camel.
• 
  An Xbox styled after a sniffer.
• 
  An Xbox styled after a warden.
• 
  An Xbox styled after the Unbreakable.
• 

Screenshots

• 
  Alex in the Xbox Vault.

Production images

• 
  Conker and Kazooie in concept art for The Super Duper Minecraft Musical.

External links

• Xbox Game Studios on Wikipedia
• Twitter profile