Microsoft Corp. did not show off new hardware at its Xbox E3 2018 briefing but did announce numerous new titles, studio acquisitions and streaming initiatives.
Xbox head Phil Spencer, who was recently promoted to executive vice president and given a spot on CEO Satya Nadella's senior leadership team, took the stage to announce that Microsoft is forming a brand new game development studio called The Initiative and is acquiring four others: Playground Games, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games and Ninja Theory. Perhaps most surprising is the news that Ninja Theory, the U.K.-based developer renowned for making popular narrative-driven action games, will now be exclusive to Microsoft devices.
"By joining us at Microsoft Studios, these five teams will have the resources, the platform and creative independence to take bigger risks and to create even bolder worlds for you," Spencer said at the annual video game industry event.
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Spencer also confirmed that Microsoft's cloud engineers are working on a service that would allow Xbox console-quality games to be streamed on any device, including mobile phones. While Spencer did not disclose when this service would be ready for consumers, Mike Nichols, chief marketing officer for Xbox, told S&P Global Market Intelligence at a special prebriefing that there are factors such as network bandwidth, download sizes and game controls on phones that still need to be addressed before this technology becomes mainstream.
Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. also announced a very similar service at its own E3 briefing. However, both Spencer and Nichols allayed concerns that dedicated video game consoles were at risk of eventually being phased out by confirming that Microsoft's teams are already deep into designing the next Xbox consoles.
"I think of streaming as far more of an additive opportunity to reach more players as opposed to a complete replacement," Nichols said. "When there are meaningful technology leaps where we think there's a far better experience to be delivered, we'll offer new hardware, but probably in a less disruptive way than in the past. It would be more like the Xbox One X, where all existing games work and play better, as opposed to having to throw all the old stuff out and starting from scratch."
Ashley Speicher, head of engineering at Microsoft's game subscription service Xbox Game Pass, also unveiled a new feature from the company's Machine Learning team called "FastStart." The feature increases the speed at which Game Pass titles boot up and will be activated for select games in an update later in June. Speicher also reiterated that the $9.99-a-month service would include all new Microsoft Studios games at launch, as well as select third-party games.
While Microsoft has not yet disclosed Game Pass' subscriber numbers, Nichols said that it has accumulated a "sizable amount" of users in its first year.
In total, Microsoft showcased more than 50 games at the briefing, which included exclusives such as racing game "Forza Horizon 4," the oft-delayed action game "Crackdown 3" and the latest entries in marquee Xbox franchises "Gears of War 5" and "Halo Infinite."
Additional E3 2018 coverage:
Sony sticks to games, stays silent on VR, streaming
Microsoft pushes game streaming service to the forefront
Nintendo's new Switch titles draw massive crowds

Xbox E3 2018 briefing