'Splosion Man Studio No Longer Owned by Microsoft

Texas-based Twisted Pixel, the studio perhaps best known for The Maw and 'Splosion Man, has split off from Microsoft and is again an independent studio. The company was acquired by Microsoft in 2011, but according to studio co-founder Josh Bear, the studio had been talking with Microsoft for a while now about going independent again "if the timing made sense for us."

Executive producer Bill Muehl explained to IGN that the transition has been in the works "for a few months." He added that Twisted Pixel will "continue [its] strong partnership with Microsoft," but is also looking forward to "new relationships and platforms." Further details about the split were not made available.

Twisted Pixel's latest game release was motorcycle racing game LocoCycle, which was released as an Xbox One launch title in November 2013 before coming to Xbox 360 and PC in 2014.

The studio is currently working on an unannounced game that is "very different from anything they've done before," Xbox boss Phil Spencer said last year. He added at the time that the game "will likely be the biggest game they've ever built from the look of it."

It is unclear if Twisted Pixel's separation from Microsoft will in any way impact the release or scope of this game.

Twisted Pixel is not the first company to be acquired by Microsoft and then later regain its independence. The highest-profile example is Halo creator Bungie, which Microsoft bought in 2000 before ending their relationship with the studio in 2007. Bungie is now working with Activision on Destiny, though the developer remains independent.