The Initiative studio releases a hype video regarding its staff

Microsoft is definitely betting on its first-party studio The Initiative, which was created prior to E3 2018 and announced at the event. The Initiative has hired many high-profile veterans of the industry, and the idea behind the studio is to create unique and innovative gaming experiences – which seems like a doable task when you look at the current staff.

Based in Santa Monica, The Initiative has recently released a hype video regarding its current state and future plans. Nothing specific has been announced obviously because the purpose of the video was to raise expectations from the studio. It’s safe to say that this particular objective was completed. While the developers sound extremely (and perhaps, too much) ambitious in the video, they give an impression of a greatly talented and sincerely inspired team.

The main challenge with The Initiative was to create the studio from scratch, and as the recruiter Annie Lohr pointed out, she was tasked with the necessity to build a spectacular team of professionals. Several names featured in the video belong to the head of studio Darrell Gallagher, director of production Brian Westergaard, lead designer Drew Murray, technical director William Archbell, director of world and narrative Blake Fischer, and game director Daniel Neuburger.

Right now The Initiative plans to push the industry further and to improve the very idea of creating games. The developers are not afraid of taking risks; they want to find out what’s next in the development process and to challenge the idea of creating games with the help of their great collective experience. The time will show if they deliver on the expectations, but let’s hope the creation of the studio marks a new great chapter in the Xbox history.

And while all of the above sounds fun, we have to say that The Initiative will be judged by its first project. Whether or not it proves to be “unique and innovative” remains to be seen.