Another day, another rumor about the Microsoft takeover. This time it’s Dying Light developer Techland’s turn, with much speculation this weekend that it has been absorbed by Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s green machine. To be fair, it’s not the first time we’ve heard this rumor in the past year – presumably because it’s one of the few remaining major independent developers yet to be gobbled up.
As such, it’s not easy to pin down a source on the story this time. As far as we can tell, the latest set of reports comes from a podcast called Defining Duke, in which one of the hosts hinted that Microsoft is looking for another developer or publisher to bolster its software offering for 2021. While the presenter doesn’t elaborate, the host of one different Xbox podcast – we hope you stay tuned – posted on Twitter that they are “fairly certain” that it is Techland. We know – eyeroll emoji, and all.
Shaky sources aside, the story gathered enough steam to get a comment from the Polish studio’s community manager. He said: “Techland is an independent studio and has not been taken over by another publisher.”
It did little, of course, to stop speculation. Many have pointed out that even if there is a buyout going on behind the scenes, the developer will not be able to respond until the ink is dry. We suppose stranger things have happened – Bethesda, for example – but the way this story came about gives us a pause; until more concrete evidence emerges, this is all pure rumors for now.