Xbox's chief content officer Matt Booty revealed that studios under the Xbox umbrella collaborate by sharing skills and technology. Examples include Blizzard assisting with cinematics for Playground Games' Fable reboot and Rare's Sea of Thieves team helping Double Fine with its upcoming game Kiln. Booty described this as a 'culture of cultures' where teams support each other without altering their identities.
Matt Booty, recently promoted to Xbox's chief content officer, discussed the collaborative spirit among Xbox studios during the latest Official Xbox Podcast. 'We have got a lot of different kinds of studios, and they've all got their own cultures, so we think of it as a culture of cultures,' Booty said. He emphasized that a key part of his role is fostering connections so teams can share resources while preserving their unique identities. These links, he noted, avoid overreach and have led to organic exchanges, as first reported by Eurogamer.net. Booty highlighted several specific collaborations. Blizzard is providing cinematics support for Playground Games' Fable reboot. Rare, known for Sea of Thieves, is lending multiplayer expertise to Double Fine's party-brawling pottery game Kiln, set for release next week. Other instances include The Coalition aiding inXile Entertainment with Unreal Engine 5 for Clockwork Revolution and Compulsion Games using Activision's MoCap studio for South of Midnight. Technology sharing extends further. Saving tech from State of Decay 2 was adapted by Obsidian for Grounded, improved, and returned to Undead Labs for State of Decay 3. In-game shop tools from Minecraft have appeared in Microsoft Flight Simulator and Starfield, with teams also exchanging narrative tools and advice. Booty's promotion follows Phil Spencer's retirement from Microsoft after nearly 40 years in February, with Asha Sharma named Xbox CEO.
