Twisted Pixel, the developer of Splosion Man video game, is cutting ties with Microsoft and will be independent again.
Microsoft acquired Twisted Pixel in 2011. Josh Bear, the studio's co-founder, says that Twisted Pixel has been in talks with Microsoft to go independent for some months. Finally, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Austin, Texas, based studio confirmed that it will spin-out of Microsoft.
"Microsoft has been an incredible partner since day one and we've always kept a background dialog open with them about the idea of returning to an independent studio model if the timing made sense for us," says Bear, who is also the creative director at the studio.
Microsoft has published six titles developed by Twisted Pixel, which includes: The Maw, Comic Jumper, The Gunstringer, LocoCycle, Splosion Man and Ms. Splosion Man.
Many gamers and market gurus have highly praised some Twisted Pixel games like Splosion Man and The Maw. However, some games like LocoCycle have received mixed reviews in the market.
"LocoCycle has no sense of when enough is enough, and as a result, too many of these detours feel like padding as opposed to creative variations," said Kevin VanOrd of Gamespot. "This would have been a great short comic film. But LocoCycle is a game."
"Strangely though, the inconsistent gameplay doesn't ruin the whole experience. For me, at least, qualms with fluidity didn't negatively impact my enjoyment as much as they could have. Why? Because this game is beyond ridiculous," said Zach Betka of GamesRadar. "I was shaking my head and laughing during every cutscene, and some of the modes that get introduced are just abhorrently beautiful. They're so bad, they're actually good."
In 2014, Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, revealed that Twisted Pixel is working on an unannounced title, which will be very different than any previous games made by the studio. Spencer also said that the upcoming game will also be the biggest game Twisted Pixel has ever developed.
It remains unclear if the development of the unannounced game will see an impact due to separation from Microsoft.
Twisted Pixel is not the first studio that Microsoft purchased before cutting off ties. Microsoft acquired Bungie, the developer of science fiction first-person shooter video game Halo, in 2000. In October 2007 the studio and Microsoft announced that they are splitting and Bungie will become independent.
Photo: Darwin Yamamoto | Flickr
