Microsoft ‘optimistic’ about British games development despite Brexit

Xbox is ‘really optimistic’ about the future of UK games development, despite the recent Brexit result.

Microsoft remains one of the biggest investors in UK games development, even after the closure of its Lionhead studio earlier in the year. It owns Rare in Twycross and Lift in London, while it has outsourced the development of Forza Horizon 3, Halo Wars and Crackdown to UK studios.

Right now, we don’t anticipate any immediate implications to our products and services in the UK,” Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg told MCV when discussing the potential fallout from Britain’s decision to exit the European Union.

We continue to monitor the UK regulatory landscape. Really the focus is to make sure that our investments in the UK meets the needs of our fans. We have seen the UK as an incredible hot bed of talent that creates great games. Some of the very best game developers are there, and some of them we own, like the team at Rare. But then we also get to work with folks like Creative Assembly and Playground Games, which are creating other great blockbuster experiences.

If you look at probably the hottest bed of Xbox game development, it is probably in the UK. Crackdown is being built there, Forza Horizon is being built there, Sea of Thieves is being built there, Halo Wars 2… so many titles for us are coming out of that market. So we continue to be really optimistic about the opportunities in the UK.”

You can read more from Greenberg in this week’s MCV.