MICROSOFT
Microsoft Game Studios, the umbrella organisation for all Microsoft's in-house talent, has been home to some of gaming's biggest names - Bungie, Rare, Lionhead... Bungie may have splintered off to go independent, but it's unthinkable that the dev won't work with Microsoft again in the future.
And, besides, Microsoft's been a bit busy unsettling Sony's grip on the industry with the power of Xbox 360, and the fantastic Xbox Live which, arguably, brought online multiplayer and console hardware together properly for the first time.
PUBLISHER SCORE: 85%
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THE STUDIOS
EnsembleStudios| Original studio
While Ensemble's back catalogue may consist wholly of Age of Empires instalments and expansions, it's a strong and capable RTS dev - illustrated by Microsoft tasking the studio with the Halo Wars strategy game.
Studio score: 83%
Bungie Studios| Acquired 2000
Now no longer a member of Microsoft's in-house production, but, with no announced plans to defect to another publisher, Bungie's Halo trilogy is still very much a part of Microsoft's - and Xbox 360's- huge success.
Studio score: 88%
Rare | Acquired 2002
It may never have repeated the brilliance of Nintendo 64's Goldeneye, but this developer has grown from a set of siblings coding Spectrum games above a newsagents in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, into a hugely respected studio owned by the biggest computing company around.
Studio score: 81%
Lionhead Studios| Acquired 2006
Fronted by the most outspoken man in gaming (after, perhaps, Peter Moore himself), Lionhead games are never dull, consistently different but regularly over-ambitious. Peter Molyneux is always good for a soundbite, though.
Studio score: 81%
