Microsoft Studios

Xbox Game Studios, formerly known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games, is a division of Microsoft Corporation that deals with developing and publishing video games for Microsoft Windows and Xbox, among other platforms.

History
Prior to the formation of a dedicated game division, Microsoft had its own Games Group which had already made some acquisitions for developers and titles, including Access Software for its Links series of golf games, and Aces Game Studio, which worked on Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The Games Group was transitioned into a wholly separate division named Microsoft Games around March 2000, around the same time the Xbox console was announced. It was renamed to Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) in 2001. One of the first major studio acquisitions was for Bungie Studios, best known for Halo: Combat Evolved, in June 2000.

By E3 2011 in June 2011, Microsoft Game Studios was renamed to Microsoft Studios, and one of the most significant acquisitions made under this name was for Mojang AB, the developers behind Minecraft, in late 2014. The company was acquired for US$2.5 billion.

The studio saw another rebranding on February 5, 2019 as Xbox Game Studios, and at E3 2019 they had announced the acquisition of Double Fine Productions.

Subsidiaries
Xbox Game Studios currently owns the following internal studios as of June 2019:
 * Mojang AB
 * Compulsion Games
 * Ninja Theory
 * Playground Games
 * 343 Industries
 * Turn 10 Studios
 * Rare
 * The Coalition
 * Obsidian Entertainment
 * Double Fine Productions