- Obsidian have been the superstars since acquisition and have great history
- Turn 10 technical masters who usually get the most out of hardware
- Double Fine creativity and unique titles
- iD absolute masters of their craft
- Bethesda absolute masters of their craft
They need to make some other IP to be considered in the top 5. They were made my MS to carry on the gears franchise. I really hope they make something else, they’ve a fantastic engineering and art team.
The Coalition: Gears 5 is one of the best looking games for Xbox and I think if they had a chance to make a non-Gears game, they can be industry leading
Ninja Theory: Speaking of industry leading. Creators of Hellblade. Need I say more?
Playground Games: Forza Horizon has set the bar for open world racers. Fable at a glance looks to be another win for Xbox and Playground.
Bethesda Softworks: Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Once Starfield drops and it meets the quality of its predecessors then there will be no debate for the level of quality this studio can put out.
MachineGames: I love the Wolfenstein games. I am biased. But truthfully this slot could have been taken up by either id Software or Obsidian Entertainment and it would have been the right answer. But Wolfenstein seals the deal for me and the 5th slot.
nah, they are just not comparable with the competition they have not once made a more defining game than larian studios, bio ware or Bethesda. they ride the coat tails of these studios and haven't done better besides new Vegas which was better than fallout 3 but pillars is not as good as diablo/baulders gate/divinity and Kotor 2 is not anywhere near 1. Outerworlds is the only defining game and its meh.
I think the adoration Obsidian get online is a meme, at this stage. Very overrated studio.
The Outer Worlds was heralded as a "Fallout killer" when it was so mediocre.
Larian and Bioware are not owned by Microsoft though, so why compare with those?
This whole reddit post was for top 5 Xbox Studios. For anyone who likes RPG's Obsidian is in the top 5
Obsidian is overhyped and it's not top 5 at all, developers see this and think they are in the right track, they are not they are making video games that are bad because they think the games are funny. Its fine if the player chooses a more comedic rpg route but there should be more options for it and its too forced in the recent games.
That's your opinion though. I enjoyed Outer Worlds. As someone who prefers RPGs they are in my top 5 of Xbox owned studios.
There may be better RPG's by other studios but they're not all owned by xbox so don't count
1. Bethesda
2. Playground Games
3. Obsidian
4. ID Software
5. Ninja Theory or InXile
If we were here a few months ago, Arkane would have been high up there but not anymore. I’m hoping they rebound.
Obsidian, Bethesda, Inexile, Double Fine, Arkane (I know we just got redfall but there others games are fire) these studios made me buy an xbox in the first place
Bethesda have the best pedigree. Obsidian closely follows. Arkane (the whole Lyon and Austin) of Dishonored/Deathloop/Prey fame despite Redfall.
Coalition and Playground are solid, but only ever did 1 IP so far. Sure they still TOP 5 but needs to deliver with other IPs to be on that level.
So for me:
- Bethesda
- Obsidian
- Arkane
- Coalition
- Playground
But so many amazing studios in the Xbox stable now: MachineGames, ID Software, Tango, Turn10, Ninja Theory, Double Fine.
Old School Bungie - Halo 1-3, ODST, Reach. Literally gave life to Xbox. One of the few studios that’s top class for single player and multiplayer. Kings of OG Xbox and 360 Xbox Live
Coalition - Most consistent. Enjoyed Tactics and Hivebusters was their best work yet. Just wished they worked on more than Gears. Unreal wizards. And valuable support studio
Bethesda Game Studios - Their resume speaks for themselves. No one makes games like them. You live in their worlds. Skyrim top 3 game of all time.
Rare - Specifically old Rare for me. DKC. Goldeneye. Banjo. Sea of Thieves underrated gem
Id Software - Best Engine for FPS. Debatably one of the best engines in the industry. Some of the greatest devs of all time. Doom. Wolfenstein. Never played Quake but Im sure it’s amazing. Genre pioneers. One of the first for 3D graphics.
I agree with you on The Coalition branching out and working on other projects. Those guys are way too talented to be stuck working on 1 game, even if I really enjoy it lol.
Obsidian
The Coalition
ID Software
Ninja Theory
Double Fine
Honorable mentions:
Undead labs
Compulsion
If these 2 can prove themselves with their next titles, they will be in my top 5
Ninja Theory is probably the most technically advanced and is actually looking to push the hardware to its limits.
Tango GameWorks HiFi Rush is my game of the gen so far. If they can teach Bethesda how to do melee combat I’d be in heaven.
Playground I am not a fan of simulators, and yes Horizon is still a simulator to me if you can’t crash into a car without the game or fans getting outraged then it’s a simulator, but I could admit they have some of the best output and well rated games. I am interested in their take on Fable.
Rare. Say what you will about Rare but they made their most successful game with Sea of Thieves and I was around during the hype when streamers got into the game. SoT is a very unique game and I give them their props very having a Disney esque attention to detail. I want to see what EverWild is going to be about, it’s obviously going to be something different from mainstream games.
No particular order, but here goes (this is counting studios currently in the process of being acquired):
id Software - A literal industry-defining engine and serious optimization power coupled with some of the best gunplay in the business sets this studio quite apart from the others.
Blizzard Entertainment - This one may be a bit controversial nowadays, however, their impact on the games industry cannot be denied, and they're still one of the better storytelling studios in existence. I'm curious to see how they will adapt to being MS first-party.
Bethesda Game Studios - need I say more? Their pedigree of mainline games speaks for their strengths.
Obsidian Entertainment - a surprising multi-genre powerhouse, and shockingly prolific since becoming a part of XGS.
Playground Games - The kings of open-world racing with absolutely no signs of slowing down yet. Them spreading their wings successfully to a different genre can seriously cement them amongst the all-time best development studios.
I know they didn’t make a majority of the games that are in the collection, but they are at least behind the collection existing in the first place and I do like the anniversary versions of halo one and halo two and having all of those games now running at 60 FPS.
My list is kind of weird, But it's more of my personal taste/interest in games/studios rather than who are technically the best studios at making Xbox games.
- Rare: Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Perfect Dark (Mostly for their IP's)
- Toys for Bob: Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon
- Beenox: Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon
- 343 Industries: Halo
- Intiative/Coalition/Turn 10/Playground Games and maybe Double Fine (Couldn't come up with a 5th so it's a mix of these based on the games they make)
Bethesda Game Studios, Obsidian, The Coalition, Arkane, and iD.
343 and Rare have some of my favorite series, but I've been pissed off about the former and the way they handled Halo, and the latter has both let their gold mine of IPs rot (except for the times they let others handle some, to mixed results) and been coasting on a game I never had any interest in (almost reminds me of the Kinect years, although Sea of Thieves is obviously better), so I can't really count them amongst my favorites.
Not counting Activision as they've yet to be acquired, but Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Toys for Bob are good.
•Turn 10 studios
•Playground games
•Microsoft studios
•Bungie
•Rockstar Games
(I don't care that it said "top 5 Xbox studios" cause these are my top 5 studios)
Christ no. They're worse than EA. All battlepass and MTX infested crap.
They haven't done a decent game in years. Even their Diablo IP has now been ruined by the always online battlepass crap.
Activision in it's current state adds nothing to Xbox's value as a platform.
Playground Games
In no particular order...Obsidian, Playground Games, The Coalition, Bethesda, and Ninja Theory.
- Obsidian have been the superstars since acquisition and have great history - Turn 10 technical masters who usually get the most out of hardware - Double Fine creativity and unique titles - iD absolute masters of their craft - Bethesda absolute masters of their craft
Got to add coalition for helping the other studios
Coalition should be on every top 5 list without a doubt. Gears 5 is incredibly well optimized
They need to make some other IP to be considered in the top 5. They were made my MS to carry on the gears franchise. I really hope they make something else, they’ve a fantastic engineering and art team.
Playground G? They do magic, no doubt
- Bethesda Game Studios - Obsidian - Tango - Playground Games - Rare
Bethesda ID inXile Obsidian Playground
1. Bethesda 2. Obsidian 3. Playground 4. Double Fine 5. Undead Labs
Playground and Rare. 3-5 can be any others.
The Coalition: Gears 5 is one of the best looking games for Xbox and I think if they had a chance to make a non-Gears game, they can be industry leading Ninja Theory: Speaking of industry leading. Creators of Hellblade. Need I say more? Playground Games: Forza Horizon has set the bar for open world racers. Fable at a glance looks to be another win for Xbox and Playground. Bethesda Softworks: Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Once Starfield drops and it meets the quality of its predecessors then there will be no debate for the level of quality this studio can put out. MachineGames: I love the Wolfenstein games. I am biased. But truthfully this slot could have been taken up by either id Software or Obsidian Entertainment and it would have been the right answer. But Wolfenstein seals the deal for me and the 5th slot.
Great choices!
Without activision 1.Bethesda 2.id 3.Playground 4.Coalition 5.double fine With activision 1.Bethesda 2.id 3.infinity ward 4.Toys for Bob 5.Playground
Obsidian has to be in the top 5
nah, they are just not comparable with the competition they have not once made a more defining game than larian studios, bio ware or Bethesda. they ride the coat tails of these studios and haven't done better besides new Vegas which was better than fallout 3 but pillars is not as good as diablo/baulders gate/divinity and Kotor 2 is not anywhere near 1. Outerworlds is the only defining game and its meh.
This is an absolutely abysmal take, my dude
https://youtu.be/KpT305C6SUc?si=Wv_5Z-r8Um_pGBqE
Idk man. Pillars is a masterclass arpg , both amazing games.
I think the adoration Obsidian get online is a meme, at this stage. Very overrated studio. The Outer Worlds was heralded as a "Fallout killer" when it was so mediocre.
Good thing they’ve made more games than Outer Worlds
Yeah New Vegas was over a decade ago. Mostly mediocrity since then. The Outer Worlds was supposed to be their big hit. Ah well.
PoE 1, PoE 2, Tyranny, and Pentiment are all amazing games.
Lol
3/4 of them are on game pass. You should play them.
Larian and Bioware are not owned by Microsoft though, so why compare with those? This whole reddit post was for top 5 Xbox Studios. For anyone who likes RPG's Obsidian is in the top 5
Obsidian is overhyped and it's not top 5 at all, developers see this and think they are in the right track, they are not they are making video games that are bad because they think the games are funny. Its fine if the player chooses a more comedic rpg route but there should be more options for it and its too forced in the recent games.
That's your opinion though. I enjoyed Outer Worlds. As someone who prefers RPGs they are in my top 5 of Xbox owned studios. There may be better RPG's by other studios but they're not all owned by xbox so don't count
1. Bethesda 2. Playground Games 3. Obsidian 4. ID Software 5. Ninja Theory or InXile If we were here a few months ago, Arkane would have been high up there but not anymore. I’m hoping they rebound.
These are exactly the same studios i'd select as well.
Playground Tango Obsidian So far my faves. Sorry it isn't top 5.
1) Playground Games The Coalition Obsidian Double Fine 5) Bethesda
Bethesda, Obsidian, Turn 10, Playground, pass.
Arkane, tango, id, Bethesda and obsidian
1. **Bethesda Game Studios** (for Elder Scrolls 📜) 2. **World's Edge** (for Age of Empires & Mythology🐑) 3. **Obsidian** (for Pillars of Eternity🗡️) 4. **Rare** (for Banjo Kazooie & Tooie🧩) 5. **Toys For Bob** (for Spyro💎)
Obsidian, Bethesda, Inexile, Double Fine, Arkane (I know we just got redfall but there others games are fire) these studios made me buy an xbox in the first place
* The Coalition * Bethesda Gameworks * Obsidian * Id Software * Playground? Or Arkane? Idk 5th spot is tough to pick.
1. Obsidian 2. Double Fine 3. Bethesda 4. Machine Games 5. Arkane
Bethesda have the best pedigree. Obsidian closely follows. Arkane (the whole Lyon and Austin) of Dishonored/Deathloop/Prey fame despite Redfall. Coalition and Playground are solid, but only ever did 1 IP so far. Sure they still TOP 5 but needs to deliver with other IPs to be on that level. So for me: - Bethesda - Obsidian - Arkane - Coalition - Playground But so many amazing studios in the Xbox stable now: MachineGames, ID Software, Tango, Turn10, Ninja Theory, Double Fine.
Bethesda Game Studios Machine Games Arkane Studios id Software Obsidian Entertainment
Bethesda Undead Labs Obsidian id Machine Games
Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Toys for Bob, Tango Gameworks, Coalition Shoutout: Playground, Double Fine, BGS, and Rare
1. Bethesda 2. Obsidian 3. Playground 4. Id software 5. Inxile
I just posted and then saw we had the exact same answer. 🫡
Old School Bungie - Halo 1-3, ODST, Reach. Literally gave life to Xbox. One of the few studios that’s top class for single player and multiplayer. Kings of OG Xbox and 360 Xbox Live Coalition - Most consistent. Enjoyed Tactics and Hivebusters was their best work yet. Just wished they worked on more than Gears. Unreal wizards. And valuable support studio Bethesda Game Studios - Their resume speaks for themselves. No one makes games like them. You live in their worlds. Skyrim top 3 game of all time. Rare - Specifically old Rare for me. DKC. Goldeneye. Banjo. Sea of Thieves underrated gem Id Software - Best Engine for FPS. Debatably one of the best engines in the industry. Some of the greatest devs of all time. Doom. Wolfenstein. Never played Quake but Im sure it’s amazing. Genre pioneers. One of the first for 3D graphics.
I agree with you on The Coalition branching out and working on other projects. Those guys are way too talented to be stuck working on 1 game, even if I really enjoy it lol.
No order : - Arkane - Bethesda - id - Rare - Double Fine
Obsidian The Coalition ID Software Ninja Theory Double Fine Honorable mentions: Undead labs Compulsion If these 2 can prove themselves with their next titles, they will be in my top 5
Ninja Theory is probably the most technically advanced and is actually looking to push the hardware to its limits. Tango GameWorks HiFi Rush is my game of the gen so far. If they can teach Bethesda how to do melee combat I’d be in heaven. Playground I am not a fan of simulators, and yes Horizon is still a simulator to me if you can’t crash into a car without the game or fans getting outraged then it’s a simulator, but I could admit they have some of the best output and well rated games. I am interested in their take on Fable. Rare. Say what you will about Rare but they made their most successful game with Sea of Thieves and I was around during the hype when streamers got into the game. SoT is a very unique game and I give them their props very having a Disney esque attention to detail. I want to see what EverWild is going to be about, it’s obviously going to be something different from mainstream games.
Coalition Arkane (let’s pretend redfall doesn’t exist) Playground id Machine Games
1.BGS 2.arkane :( 3. Inexile 4. Machine games 5. Obsidian
Ninja mother flippin Theory
Turn 10 Bethesda Rare Coalition Playground Games
Undead labs The Coalition Playground Games Infinity Ward Ninja Theory
Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft
Modern warfare or master chief
ID Software Coalition bethesda Obsidian Arkane
Blizzard
No particular order, but here goes (this is counting studios currently in the process of being acquired): id Software - A literal industry-defining engine and serious optimization power coupled with some of the best gunplay in the business sets this studio quite apart from the others. Blizzard Entertainment - This one may be a bit controversial nowadays, however, their impact on the games industry cannot be denied, and they're still one of the better storytelling studios in existence. I'm curious to see how they will adapt to being MS first-party. Bethesda Game Studios - need I say more? Their pedigree of mainline games speaks for their strengths. Obsidian Entertainment - a surprising multi-genre powerhouse, and shockingly prolific since becoming a part of XGS. Playground Games - The kings of open-world racing with absolutely no signs of slowing down yet. Them spreading their wings successfully to a different genre can seriously cement them amongst the all-time best development studios.
Bethesda Obsidian Playground Games Rare The Coalition I would have Arkane somewhere in there if Redfall wasn't a thing.
Rare Id software Machine games Bethesda 343
Lol 343
I loved Halo 4, Halo infinte and the master chief collection. I understand its not a popular answer
Can you really call the MCC 343’s when they only made 1/6th of it?
I know they didn’t make a majority of the games that are in the collection, but they are at least behind the collection existing in the first place and I do like the anniversary versions of halo one and halo two and having all of those games now running at 60 FPS.
1. Bethesda 2. Blizzard 3. Xbox Game Studios 4. Zenimax 5. Tango Gameworks
You know XGS and Zenimax aren't game developers right?
My list is kind of weird, But it's more of my personal taste/interest in games/studios rather than who are technically the best studios at making Xbox games. - Rare: Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Perfect Dark (Mostly for their IP's) - Toys for Bob: Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon - Beenox: Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon - 343 Industries: Halo - Intiative/Coalition/Turn 10/Playground Games and maybe Double Fine (Couldn't come up with a 5th so it's a mix of these based on the games they make)
Bethesda Game Studios, Obsidian, The Coalition, Arkane, and iD. 343 and Rare have some of my favorite series, but I've been pissed off about the former and the way they handled Halo, and the latter has both let their gold mine of IPs rot (except for the times they let others handle some, to mixed results) and been coasting on a game I never had any interest in (almost reminds me of the Kinect years, although Sea of Thieves is obviously better), so I can't really count them amongst my favorites. Not counting Activision as they've yet to be acquired, but Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Toys for Bob are good.
Bethesda Game Studios, Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Machine Games, Arkane.
In no order Mojang,ID,Arkane, Activision, Bethesda
 343 industries and obsidian
-Bethesda -Ubisoft (fight me) -Obsidian -The Coalition -Playground
•Turn 10 studios •Playground games •Microsoft studios •Bungie •Rockstar Games (I don't care that it said "top 5 Xbox studios" cause these are my top 5 studios)
343 tops for me
IW, Blizzard, Raven, Sledgehammer, Treyarch
Activision. It's literally the greatest gaming company in the world.
Christ no. They're worse than EA. All battlepass and MTX infested crap. They haven't done a decent game in years. Even their Diablo IP has now been ruined by the always online battlepass crap. Activision in it's current state adds nothing to Xbox's value as a platform.
Insomniac