State Of Decay 2 Developer’s Relationship With Microsoft Is Very Good, Dev Explains
Professional relationships are that – professional. Despite that, there are times when the people you’re working with aren’t likable to you and that’s alright; that is as long as the job still gets done. This applies to all fields and industries including the dynamics between video game developers and their publishing partners. Although Microsoft has garnered a bit of a reputation with their recent cancellation of projects, State of Decay 2 developer sings to a different tune.
Undead Labs are the people behind the creation of the anticipated State of Decay 2, an open-world, zombie survival game to rival its former title in popularity. Although Microsoft and Xbox have collectively received a few nicks on their reputation from the community, this developer describes their relationship as pretty smooth sailing. According to Undead Labs CEO, Jeff Strain, State of Decay 2 was a project that no one else wanted to be a part of. That is except Microsoft:
They own the name and the specific incarnation of it. Microsoft backed a game that nobody in their right mind should have touched. We talked to them from the very beginning. I mean, we’re in Seattle, they’re in Redmond. I knew that I wanted to build a great console game and a great PC game, and it just made sense to work with them. But going out with a game that’s permadeath, which at the time in 2009/10 when we started developing nobody was doing.
That’s game design 101. You don’t do permadeath, are you guys on crack? And also with that just kind of general formula that I was talking about, there were no comparables. Big publishers get nervous when they can’t say, ‘Oh, it’s like PUBG, only it’s got dragons.’
So we came up with this grand vision for what this thing could be, and to their great credit, the folks at Microsoft said yeah, let’s give it a go. And so they’ve been a good partner and as long as we’re making State of Decay games, Microsoft will be our partner in that.”
In other words, Microsoft believed in Undead Labs even if others didn’t. In fact, if their project didn’t have relations with current and mainstream video game trends, publishers were hesitant to back them up. There were certainly other risky elements that came with developing a series like State of Decay, but the team obviously wanted to go against the tide. Sometimes, gamers want something new and refreshing.
It’s good to know that the relationship between Microsoft and their developing partners are doing well. The better the chemistry, the better the game will likely be as well. What do you think of Microsoft as a publisher? Do you prefer their creation of first-party games or is it just a hit or miss? Let us know what you think in the comments section below or start a conversation on DFTG Facebook page. To stay up to date on gaming news as it happens, follow us on Twitter! Here’s some of our latest:
Hoi Duong2131 Posts
Hoi is an elusive figure at DFTG, whose favorite past-times include chillin' in the Fade, reading manga, watching anime, collecting novelty items, and gaming.
