Microsoft Launches Vancouver Studio, Reportedly Developing Shooter For Kinect

Microsoft Game Studios has launched a web site for a new Vancouver location that is reportedly working on a "core" Kinect-based shooter for the Xbox 360. Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver is "dedicated to making games for 'core' gamers," and looking to "push the limits of proven and unexplored game development and show the world what's possible on Microsoft's game consoles," according to the newly launched site. The site also mentions that the new studio will share resources with Kinect Joy Ride developer BigPark Studios, another Vancouver outfit that Microsoft acquired two years ago. There's no a official word on what the studio is working on, but an online resume from art director Shawn Woods, turned up by a NeoGAF user, points to "a core AAA shooter experience using Kinect." The new project represents a change from the studio's work on social microtransaction game Relic Rescue, which was developed under the studio's original Zipline Studios moniker, according to the resume. At last month's MI6 conference, Microsoft's Kudo Tsunoda highlighted how Kinect was designed to be about approachable, intuitive games, rather than games that required a hardcore gamer's deep knowledge. "This could not be about an hour long tutorial in which you learned how to walk about and shoot things," he said.