Microsoft guts four studios to focus on priority games aka Bethesda games

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Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Studios have all been cut, and Roundhouse Games is being absorbed into ZeniMax Online.

Current Xbox header on Twitter, as of the axing of several Xbox-owned studios— including Xbox's only Japan studio.
Current Xbox header on Twitter, as of the axing of several Xbox-owned studios— including Xbox's only Japan studio. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Adding to the ever-increasing list of game developers losing their jobs, Microsoft Xbox has shuttered three studios it acquired with Activision Blizzard, according to IGN. The three shuttered development studios in question are Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush, The Evil Within, Ghostwire), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom), and Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall). Roundhouse Games is also being absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online.

Of the three development studios lost in these ruthless cuts from Microsoft, Alpha Dog Games is the least-known, particularly as a mobile game developer. The Mighty Doom mobile spinoff developed by Alpha Dog may not be a high-octane FPS like Doom Eternal, but it was at least a perfectly serviceable top-down shooter with Doom characters.

The better-known studios being closed this round are Arkane and Tango Gameworks. While Arkane Austin's latest release of Redfall notoriously underperformed (and it seems the devs didn't even want to make that game), their past work on highly-successful titles such as Prey places them in the upper echelon in RPG developers. Enjoyers of "immersive sim" game design everywhere will be disheartened by this news, though the main Arkane Lyon studio in France seems safe (for now).

Of the three developers closed, Tango Gameworks' closing seems to be receiving the most backlash. As Microsoft's only Japanese studio, Tango still managed to put out a number of successful titles, with Hi-Fi Rush being considered by many to be the best Xbox exclusive of the past generation. The rhythm action hybrid not only won several awards, but Xbox Games Marketing VP Aaron Greenberg claimed Xbox "couldn't be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered."

Whatever brownie points that Xbox was hoping to earn by "reaffirming commitment to physical media" is quickly being replaced with backlash across the gaming sphere. When a truly unique title like Hi-Fi Rush can be considered "a break out hit" by the higher-ups who then choose to shutter the entire studio within a year of making the comment, it seems clear to gamers and developers alike that the AAA gaming industry is a black hole that sucks in talent and spits out gratuitous layoffs for marginal increases in executive salaries and shareholder profits.

Microsoft's justification for these moves? Matt Booty claims, "We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games."

That's right: this isn't because Tango, Arkane Austin, or Alpha Dog Games have underperformed. It is literally just Microsoft wanting to make slightly more money with "safer" bets — at least, before we consider that the latest Halo game, Starfield, Fallout 76, and several other major MS projects all launched with (and many still have) severe issues. It certainly seems that AAA flop after AAA flop should be the issue to address, rather than actually-successful games like Hi-Fi Rush.

What's the point of consolidating all this industry talent if you're still going to fire them after they make great games that perform above expectations? At least we have a lovely Tweet from Blizzard president Mike Ybarra reminding us that throwing away the livelihood of three studios' worth of faithful employees "hurts him [Phil Spencer] as much as anyone else."

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dr3ams
    Most of the new AAA titles have so much political and social agendas injected into them, that I won't even consider playing the games. I want to play a game without being gaslighted or indoctrinated. Jeez...I miss studios like Westwood.
    Reply
  • valthuer
    Dr3ams said:
    I miss studios like Westwood.

    Those were the days, man! The time and money that company used to dedicate in the cinematic experience alone, put to shame most of the modern-day game developers out there.

    You can't imagine how i miss games like Red Alert and Tiberian Sun!
    Reply
  • ezst036
    valthuer said:
    Those were the days, man! The time and money that company used to dedicate in the cinematic experience alone, put to shame most of the modern-day game developers out there.

    You can't imagine how i miss games like Red Alert and Tiberian Sun!

    I'll add Eye of the Beholder and Dune II. Games were much better when the game itself was the point, the game was the end goal.

    As Dr3ams said, it is shameful how politics and gaslighting has corrupted the gaming industry into a vessel for power and the game itself is just a secondary feature. The game is not the goal, the end to attain.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    This news is disgusting. These smaller studios should have been left alone to create unique experiences outside the limits of big franchise IP. I want more games like Hi-Fi Rush. I have zero interest in another Fallout or Elder Scrolls. I really hate the idea in modern capitalism where a studio or product can be successful and have positive cash flow but it isn't successful or profitable enough to be kept operating.
    Reply
  • ohio_buckeye
    How about Lords of the Realm 2?

    That was a good game. I’d like to see Manor Lords take that model and expand on what they’ve already done.

    If you never played it, the whole thing was you had a king who’d died and 5 nobles fighting for the crown. Imagine a map of England and 5 nobles in Manor Lords. That could be a fun game with castles etc.
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    i know most of these are sad to see go but the team behind Redfall should of been gutted after they released that "game" long ago....
    Reply
  • TechLurker
    Dr3ams said:
    Most of the new AAA titles have so much political and social agendas injected into them, that I won't even consider playing the games. I want to play a game without being gaslighted or indoctrinated. Jeez...I miss studios like Westwood.
    Very much this. I just want a pure game that tells a long enough story without being plagued with real-world political and social agenda messaging. I want good escapism, a moment to be anywhere else but reality, with a strong story, likable cast, and dialogue that fits the setting.

    I get that game development has become expensive, but if some indie devs are still able to turn out memorable games that avoid political messaging while still harkening back to the wilder, whimsical games of the 90s, 00s, and 10s, surely some big-name studios could also afford to continue experimenting and just having fun with smaller IPs they own instead of making everything big budget.

    As well, I find that with newer game releases, I'm spending less and less on them and more time going back to playing through a backlog or playing old games again, whether it's Spyro or Tiberium Sun or Final Fantasy. If I do spend, it's usually on niche games like Palworld, Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, or SaGa. None of which are considered AAA, but provide enough entertainment for hours without feeding me an agenda.
    Reply
  • ohio_buckeye
    I find a lot of the AAA games I don’t care about. I am interested in the new Indiana Jones hands as well as I think a new 007 game is supposed to be arriving at some point. This may not be for pc, but really looking forward to the new college football game rumored to be releasing in July.
    Reply
  • Notton
    TechLurker said:
    As well, I find that with newer game releases, I'm spending less and less on them and more time going back to playing through a backlog or playing old games again, whether it's Spyro or Tiberium Sun or Final Fantasy. If I do spend, it's usually on niche games like Palworld, Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, or SaGa. None of which are considered AAA, but provide enough entertainment for hours without feeding me an agenda.

    :unsure:
    Uhm... Tiberium Sun is a little subtle, and FF depends on which number it was, but Helldivers 2?
    HD2 is straight in your face and over the top when it comes to commentary.
    Reply
  • Notton
    Activision-Blizzard was an awful company run by a comically evil man.
    Them being bought out by Microsoft was never a good thing either.
    Reply