Stop worrying about timed exclusives and worry more about games industry consolidation

On Sunday at E3 2019, Microsoft announced they had bought Double Fine. At last year’s show, the tech giant announced they had bought Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Playground Games and Compulsion Games, then added Obsidian and inXile in November. In the last 8 months, THQ Nordic has purchased Piranha Bytes, Bugbear Entertainment and Coffee Stain Studios, as well as the IP for TimeSplitters, Carmageddon, Outcast and more. A few weeks ago Sega bought Two Point Studios, to add to their existing strategy studios which includes Amplitude, Creative Assembly, Relic and Sports Interactive.

The games industry is experiencing a wave of consolidation, and it’s a cause for concern. I was more worried a few months ago when Epic Games bought Psyionix, makers of Rocket League, than I have been about any Epic Games store exclusive. Here’s why.

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