“Xbox is cooked”: Microsoft under fire after announcing the closure of four video game studios

The ax has fallen at Xbox (Microsoft). The console manufacturer announced this Tuesday, May 7, the closure of several video game development studios, a few months after announcing the dismissal of 1,900 people. The studios involved are Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom) and Roundhouse Games. The news was announced via an email to employees from Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, according to IGN. The reasons for these closures are “based on prioritizing high-impact titles, and continued investment in Bethesda’s hit games and beloved worlds,” he writes.

Xbox is therefore cutting the workforce of publisher Bethesda, acquired for $8.1 billion in 2021. A few weeks ago, the offices of Bethesda France, which was mainly responsible for communication and translation of games for the French market, had closed. “We were fooled for a few weeks with the promise of a trip to Microsoft's premises,” an employee of these French premises complained to our colleagues at BFMTV at the end of April.

According to information from American media The Verge, some of the staff at the studios affected by these sudden closures will be relocated, while other studios will close permanently. Arkane Austin, for example, “will close its doors and certain members of the team will join other studios to work on projects within Bethesda,” explains Matt Booty in his email. The latest update for the Redfall game will be the last, as the group ends its development.

In addition, the title Mighty Doom, developed by Alpha Dog Games, will disappear from the markets on August 7. Microsoft is also expected to move the team from Roundhouse Studios to ZeniMax Online Studios to work more closely on multiplayer game The Elder Scrolls Online. On the side of Tango Gameworks, on the other hand, “no member of the team seems to want to join the other Bethesda studios,” reports The Verge.

“These changes do not reflect the creativity and skills of the talented people on these teams, nor the risks they took to try new things,” assures Matt Booty. At present, it is still difficult to assess the number of developers licensed by Microsoft, which are added to those already numerous in the video game industry in recent months.

The announcement of the closure of these studios did not fail to cause a reaction throughout the video game industry. Even the most fervent defenders of Microsoft and its Xbox brand have made their disapproving publications on the social network X. “Xbox is done. How can we still trust Microsoft?” protests Jez Corden, editor-in-chief of the specialized site Windows Central. “That’s not the Xbox brand I want to see. I don't recognize her anymore these days. To all employees affected by these closures, I want to tell them that I am deeply sorry,” also denounced the influencer specializing in Xbox news Klobrille, followed by 162,000 people on X (ex-twitter).

Many Internet users have also dug up an old tweet from Xbox marketing manager Aaron Greenberg. On April 21, 2023, the executive congratulated the commercial and critical performance of Hi-Fi Rush, describing the title from Tango Gameworks, one of the studios in the process of closing, as a “potential hit, for us as for the players”. “We couldn't be happier with what Tango Gameworks has delivered.”

The influential Washington Post journalist, Gene Park, also joked about this publication. “One thing is certain: no one will believe Xbox anymore when one of its spokespersons says that 'Hellblade 2 (the next Xbox exclusive game, editor's note) is a potential hit for us and for the gamers',” said he commented on his X account.

This announcement is all the more criticized as it affects historic studios, and unanimously considered to be developing quality titles. Tango Gameworks, the most popular of the soon to be closed studios, notably produced The Evil Within 1 and 2, Ghostwire Tokyo and the recent Hi-Fi Rush, nominated five times for the Game Awards, the equivalent of the Oscars for video games, and winner of a BAFTA for “best animation”.

Arkane Austin, for its part, notably developed Prey, released in 2017, and the less successful Redfall, which critics did not spare in 2023. Arkane Austin was also the only American studio of Arkane Studios, whose head office is located in Lyon, and which developed the Dishonored franchise and the Deathloop game.

This new studio closure comes in a very delicate context for Xbox, whose consoles are struggling to sell. Already blamed by its fans for having recently ported many of its exclusive titles to competing consoles (the Playstation 5 and the Nintendo Switch) and for its recent critical failures (Starfield, Redfall, etc.), the manufacturer has been carrying out layoffs for several months , and this, in all its branches.

A year after concluding a $69 billion agreement for the acquisition of publisher Activision-Blizzard-King (Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush...), Microsoft announced in early January that it would lay off no less than 1,900 employees, or 9% of its payroll, in its division dedicated to video games. “We have set priorities and identified areas of redundancy. This is why we have made the painful decision to reduce our workforce,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in an email sent to ABK employees.

These studio closures have, in any case, not failed to provoke a reaction from Thomas Mahler, the creative director of Moon Game Studios, behind the very recent and very popular No Rest for the Wicked. “To all Arkane Studio and Tango Gameworks employees who lost their jobs: Moon Game Studios is still looking for passionate developers who would like to contribute to No Rest for the Wicked. Send you your CV.” Already, independent studios and large video game firms are positioning themselves to attract talented developers who have been fired by Microsoft.