With its new Santa-Monica based game studio, The Initiative, Microsoft wants to innovate and create something groundbreaking.

　　During its E3 2018 press conference last week, Xbox head Phil Spencer not only announced that Microsoft is in the process of purchasing 4 gaming studios, he also announced that a new internal studio is being build – The Initiative.

　　As covered earlier, this new studio is led by former Tomb Raider head Darrell Gallagher, who talked to GamesBeat about his role at the new studio, and the mandate Microsoft has apparently given him.

　　“In the briefing and beyond, in some of the post-briefing stuff—my focus is one of opportunity and trying to make something ground-breaking”, Gallagher told Gamesbeat when asked about his focus. “I’ve been given the mandate and the freedom and the support to go do that. It’s almost the best of both worlds, where I get to go build something—I love building things. If you look at my history, it’s building IP, building studios, building teams, building entertainment. I love being able to build. To do that with the support of Xbox and Microsoft behind me, looking for ground-breaking new gaming pillars to work with in the future, it’s a great opportunity.”

　　The former Crystal Dynamics studios head continued, “that’s really the mandate: make something ground-breaking. Innovate. Take those brightest minds in the industry and beyond and say, “What can we do in the future?” We have all this hardware, all these tools, all the creativity. As a gamer, we have the opportunity play games across every device in every place. For me as a creator, it’s awesome to be given the opportunity by Phil Spencer and by Xbox to go build something.”

　　What will Microsoft deliver in the future? Are you excited about Microsoft’s upped investment in first party? Hit the comments below.