Xbox says Blizzard is helping Fable look better, while Rare is backing Double Fine’s Kiln
Xbox’s game teams might work under the same giant umbrella, but they do not all build games the same way. Some are known for massive action franchises, others for weird creative projects, and according to Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty, that difference is exactly why internal collaboration matters.
Speaking on the Official Xbox Podcast, Booty said Xbox’s studios have developed a system where teams can share skills, tools and support without losing their own identity. In short, Xbox is trying to make its developers more connected, not more uniform.
That has already led to some interesting crossover help behind the scenes.
One of the biggest examples is Blizzard assisting Playground Games with cinematics for the upcoming Fable reboot. That is a pretty notable combo. Blizzard has years of experience delivering flashy, polished cinematic work across series like Diablo and Overwatch, so hearing that expertise is being used on Fable is the kind of detail Xbox fans will definitely clock.
Booty described Xbox as a "culture of cultures", saying his job is to create enough structure for teams to talk to each other and share useful ideas, but not so much that corporate management starts flattening what makes each studio special.
The cross-studio support Xbox highlighted
Booty gave several examples of how this is working right now:
- The Coalition is helping inXile Entertainment with Unreal Engine 5 for Clockwork Revolution
- Blizzard is supporting Playground Games on Fable cinematics
- Compulsion Games, the studio behind South of Midnight, has used the Activision motion capture studio
- Rare is sharing its multiplayer expertise with Double Fine for pottery-themed party brawler Kiln, which is due out next week
That last one is especially funny in the best way. Sea of Thieves studio Rare helping out on a quirky pottery brawler called Kiln is exactly the kind of Xbox crossover that sounds random at first, but makes sense once you remember multiplayer design is a skillset on its own.
Booty also shared a more technical example involving Undead Labs and Obsidian. Tech first used in State of Decay 2 for saving shared worlds and tracking persistent states was later used by Obsidian’s small team on Grounded. After that, Obsidian improved the tech, and those additions have now circled back to Undead Labs for State of Decay 3.
According to Booty, this kind of knowledge-sharing is happening in other areas too. He said tech used for in-game shops in Minecraft later showed up in Microsoft Flight Simulator and Starfield. Teams are also exchanging narrative tools and storytelling tips.
Why this matters for Malaysia and SEA players
For Xbox fans in Malaysia and across SEA, this is the sort of industry detail that can actually matter more than a flashy teaser. Better internal support usually means stronger production values, fewer duplicated mistakes, and a better chance that smaller or more experimental games get the backing they need.
That is especially relevant for titles like Fable and Kiln. Fable is one of Xbox’s bigger prestige projects, so Blizzard lending cinematic support suggests Microsoft wants that reboot to land properly. Meanwhile, a smaller and stranger game like Kiln getting help from Rare shows Xbox is not only throwing resources at its obvious blockbusters.
For players here, where platform loyalty is already competitive and game prices are not getting any kinder, people want to know whether a publisher is actually making smarter use of its studios. If Xbox can turn internal collaboration into better games instead of messy top-down interference, that is a win.
Booty’s comments come after a major leadership shake-up at Microsoft’s gaming division. He was promoted to chief content officer following Phil Spencer’s retirement announcement in February, after nearly 40 years with Microsoft. At the same time, Asha Sharma was named as Xbox’s new CEO.
In the same wider podcast conversation, Booty also briefly touched on Project Helix, described as the next generation of Xbox console.
For now, the main takeaway is simple: Xbox wants its studios to stay creatively different, but technically connected. If that leads to a better-looking Fable and a stronger Kiln, no complaints lah.
Source: Eurogamer
