Microsoft and Twisted Pixel Fall In Love, Get Hitched

If it's one thing that Hollywood has taught women--and, by proxy, their bored boyfriends who found themselves drug out to the theater on a Friday night in exchange for being able to watch college football the next day--it's that casual sex always leads to falling in love. You can't have a friends with benefits relationship without inevitably falling for the hunky dude you're boinking, and vice versa.

For the sake of this story, let's envision Microsoft as the oblivious, hunky, Justin Timberlake/Ashton Kutcher/Jake Gylenhaal type, and Splosion Man/The Gunstringer developer Twisted Pixel as the beautiful, perennially unattached, Mila Kunis/Natalie Portman/Anne Hathaway type. It's especially funny if you picture Chainsaw (pictured right) making out with Justin Timberlake.

Anyhoo, word on the street is that after a lengthy courtship that saw Twisted Pixel produce multiple XBLA and PC titles completely free of commitment to Microsoft, the publisher has finally decided to put a ring on that finger, and make Twisted Pixel its child bride. (Once again, try picturing Chainsaw in a child-sized wedding dress. Amazing, right?)

For those particularly fond of Twisted Pixel's unique identity within the game industry, this might sound an alarm of change forthcoming. However, speaking to Joystiq, Microsoft's Phil Spencer made it clear the company has no interest in messing with a good thing.

"I lived through the integration of FASA, through Bungie, the integration of Digital Anvil," Spencer said. "I can go through the list of studios we've worked with. I can honestly say we've become better at working with partners and keeping them what they are," Spencer said. "In the beginning, it was 'everybody's got to move to Redmond, kind of integrate completely into the Microsoft process,' and that doesn't always work for every culture. I think you have to keep to the core of 'What is this partnership about?'"

As a result, Twisted Pixel will remain at its Austin, Texas location, and continue making both XBLA and disc-based projects, albeit now with a great deal more funding. So what might be on the horizon as a result of this partnership?

"We've been talking with them about this IP they have called Halo that hasn't been doing too well, we told them we could help them out with that some time," Bear joked. "Live action, Mad Dog McCree-style Halo, coming soon."

I don't care if he was joking, I would totally play a Twisted Pixel Halo game.

And suddenly, a new night trap game takes a giant leap forward towards reality

Yes. Actually no - DAMN IT!

Not surprising to me really. TP already seemed like they made xbox only games.

I hope this results in them getting crazier, what with more money.

What a terrible opening paragraph. I don't even wanna read the rest now.

I would play a Halo game by Twisted Pixel

Night Trap, Night Trap, Night Trap!

And suddenly, a new night trap game takes a giant leap forward towards reality

Think of all the FMV they could make with corporate funding.

There is only one question that matters: Does this bring us closer to or further from a Night Trap remake?

They can be the next Rare or Ensemble!

This story is about as unfunny as a Twisted Pixel game.

Twisted Pixel with more funding is a very, very good thing.

I'd watch that porno.

These guys are brilliant.

They just, IMO need that push of art direction to really give their games a style.

I'll have to look up Night Trap. This article started off creepy, but this union detatched from Alexes embellishments still seems creepy. And decent chance sooner or later, some kind of censure from 'Big Daddy' MS down to 'Only 14 and she already knows how to Nasty' Twisted Pixel will occur. Interesting to me recently was the reviewer for MSNBC in Sci/Tech considered a few parts of GunStringers perverted (his word), since it was aimed at children(I guess because it is a Kinnect title) I would not have called it perverted, but the scenes he showed for evidence..they were a bit strange for children..heh.

Give them all of the money!

This is the best sorty about this I've read. When I come near death and I want to tell the story of my adventures, Alex will write it, and it was be glorious.

Microsoft has got the money to pry that Night Trap license away from Sega.

Here hoping they don't change and not end up like Rare doing Kinect Sports crap.

Now all of Ryan's FMV dreams can come true.

So when do they get shut down or heavily marginalized like Rare?

Kidding aside good for them, keep making games I kinda like!

@Rirse said:

Here hoping they don't change and not end up like Rare doing Kinect Sports crap.

Bump that. Rare is a good studio, too.

@MrOldboy said:

Not surprising to me really. TP already seemed like they made xbox only games.

Remind me again how well this worked out for Rareware.

I CAN'T STOP LOL'ING!!!!!!

Alex, that was too fucking funny. Great read, & good for Twisted Pixel getting some of that Mircosoft money.

So I guess Twisted Pixel will get stuck doing a ton of Kinect games. At least it means there will be some good/funny kinect games that aren't balls.

Sounds cool.

Also, got to the make out ending of paragraph two and though "Who wrote this? I bet it was Alex." BINGO!

After playing the Gunstringer, I am cautiously optimistic about TP future.

I have hard time enjoying the games TP makes. Anyway, awesome news for them! Hopefully it is not just Kinetic games they end up making in the future.

They should've bought Double Fine, their games are really something special.

@AaronChance said:

They can be the next Rare or Ensemble!

Except Rare and Ensemble made totally brilliant games from a gameplay perspective, TP games have terribly gameplay but brilliant FMV.

What did I just read? And I mean it not in a good way.

Big whoop...

More funding sounds good. I liked Ms Splosion Man a ton, probably more than most. Here's hoping for some more good stuff and not games for a peripheral that I will never own.

Good decision. Twisted Pixel is a really innovative and good studio. Congrats to them :)

If they ever stopped being bastards and put Splosion Man on something besides xbox, I might have been mad about this. But since their best stuff has always been xbox exclusive I can just say good for them. Hope they continue to make cool games for xbox.

@Rirse said:

Here hoping they don't change and not end up like Rare doing Kinect Sports crap.

Yes thats the first thing that popped in my head. They should do even better with microsoft backing there ads.

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So they will either disband the studio and send the higher ups over to 343 industries or they turn into Rare and make avatar clothes and shitty kinect games.

Well, as long as Microsoft has promised never to interfere with their development process I guess it's okay. *head explodes in a shower of candy*

Only Alex could have made a “put a ring” joke.

Sounds interesting, as long as Microsoft don't mess this studio up or close them down if sales are not super high, I am on board. More funding hopefully means a more secure future for this studio.

Another good one bites the dust. :(

@bko said:

This story is about as unfunny as a Twisted Pixel game.

so it's great!

This is good, I'm glad they can get more funding for all of their projects.

I really don't think this is going to make that much difference they were practically like a Microsoft studio anyway. I guess the only thing it really means is that more disc based games utilizing the Kinect are a strong possibility.

So Twisted Pixel shut down in <5 years?

Any takers?