Could this be the sign of trouble from Microsoft’s gaming sector? I don’t think so. The news about MS selling off Indie Built is more than likely just another way of cutting down on non-productive depts.

Now, I must say that as an Xbox owner, MS needs to desperately get some good original titles as Sony continues to mop the floor with them at every turn. At this point, MS has Halo 2 and that is about it.

Microsoft Corp. has sold a Utah-based development studio that makes a series of well-known golf, snowboarding and tennis video games, effectively ending the development of sports titles by its internal Microsoft Game Studios.

The 70-person studio, known as Indie Built, was sold for an undisclosed sum to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., a New York-based game developer and publisher. Indie Built is responsible for the titles “Links,” “Amped” and “TopSpin.”

Most of the Indie Built employees now are working for Take-Two as a result of the deal, although they are expected to remain in Salt Lake City.

The sale to Take-Two marks Microsoft’s second major step away from sports video game development in recent months. The company in August closed the Redmond-based development studio that made XSN-branded team sports games for Microsoft’s Xbox video game console. Seventy-six jobs were eliminated in the process, although more than half of those people have found other positions with the company.