The Xbox Game Studios head says Playground Games, best known for Forza Horizon, has eased concerns about Fable, while 343 Industries’ internal restructuring will be suitable for the new Halo.
Speaking on both Fable (rumoured earlier this week to have Eidos Montréal helping with development) and Halo Infinite on the Skill Up Friends Per Second podcast, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty. Here’s what he had to say about Fable: “Playground makes racing games, but if we deconstruct that a little bit, I think the thing that Playground does is high-craft, high-quality, great attention to detail. They had a particular passion for the IP, and I think they also demonstrated that they understand what the heart and soul of Fable are about and how they can bring it forward for today’s sensibilities. [How to] make a modern take on Fable.
There’s stuff I wish I could share and show because some things I’ve seen are encouraging. There’s a danger sometimes that you want to avoid [have] the RPG team making a racing game or vice-versa. You want the shooter team to avoid creating a kid’s building-block game. You can get in trouble there. But [Playground has] an excellent technology base, they’ve got a passion for the IP, and they’ve just got such a demonstrated commitment to craft and quality. […] During some of the first reviews, I shared a little scepticism that I feel like we’re going out on a limb here, but they’ve since put that to rest. I’m excited for everybody to see it,” Booty said.
As for Halo Infinite, he said that 343 Industries didn’t have adequate plans for post-game content: “These days, with a game like Halo Infinite, shipping the game is just the beginning. There’s gotta be a content plan [to] sustain, there’s gotta be a plan for continuing engagement, and we just fell short on the schedule. We’ve retrenched, we’ve got some changes in how the team is set up, we’ve got some leadership changes, and we have to get refocused around that sustained content plan. And thank you to the players for sticking with us through this.
We know there’s way more demand and much more we could deliver. We appreciate the players sticking with us; our focus right now is quality-of-life for the game and getting on a regular cadence of content. If was a good finish across the finish line, and then, the classic runner’s mistake of tripping and stumbling […], we’ve got to recover. So, the burden is on us; the team is very focused on that. […] The phrase “gone gold” or “we shipped the game,” I don’t know if that has as much meaning today as it did five or six years ago,” Booty added.
The Winter Update for Halo Infinite is coming on November 8, while the release date for Fable is unknown (it’s coming to PC and Xbox Series).
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