Despite many companies like Lenovo and OnePlus increasing their prices in fright of the decreasing value of the pound in Britain, Xbox is ‘really optimistic’ about the future of UK games development, even after Brexit.
Microsoft is still one of the biggest investors in UK games development, despite the closure of its Lionhead studio earlier this year. Microsoft still owns Rare in the village of Twycross and Lift in London and has also outsourced the development of their recent titles Forza Horizon 3, Halo Wars and Crackdown to UK studios.
Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg told MCVUK that Microsoft does not "anticipate any immediate implications to [their] products and services in the UK" when talking about the potential damage Brexit might have on the British pound.
He has further stated that Microsoft continues "to monitor the UK regulatory landscape" as well as making sure that their "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.
Whether or not Microsoft has some sort of behind the scenes magic going on that the other companies afraid of Brexit are not aware of, remains to be seen. Perhaps at the end of all this, Microsoft will still make money from Brexit without changing any of their marketing strategies.
What are your thoughts on Microsoft, the Brexit and its potential consequences for gaming as an industry in the UK?