Xbox Can’t Hold the Line – Opinion
It’s hard to deny that the video game industry is a bit of a rut these days. Layoffs have spared no one and continue to rear its ugly head across the industry. Yesterday, Bloomberg reporter, Jason Schreier, reported that Xbox announced that it decided to close down four studios from Zenimax – Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Studio, and Roundhouse Games. It was a shock to many, even as Microsoft laid off nearly 2,000 workers earlier in the year. It’s a worrying trend that doesn’t look like it slow down any time soon, unfortunately.
We here at Lords of Gaming wanted to share our thoughts on the matter, check them out below.
Xbox Hammering the Final Nail in the Coffin – Robert Kellett, Writer
BREAKING: Xbox is shutting down Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and two other studios. Story hitting Bloomberg shortly
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 7, 2024
Considering 2024 kicked off with intense layoffs across all sides of the pond, something like this is not wholly unexpected. Microsoft themselves commented on the status of Redfall’s Arkane Austin not long after launch, implying the studio might not last for long.
When Hi-Fi Rush shadow dropped like the rock star it was, I was enamored. It had such a personality and if other releases didn’t come out in 2023, it would have been my game of the year. Amazing music, rocking visuals, and a lovable cast made me love the experience.
Microsoft closing Tango infuriates me, on the same level Sony shuttering Studio Japan did. It shows me the publisher doesn’t know what they have and only makes their strides in expanding their reach in Japan hypocritical. Why bother expanding in that region if you don’t even want a developer from there?
The likelihood of other Microsoft-owned studios joining these four is high. I would keep an eye on the future of developers Undead Labs and The Initiative, considering those developers have much to prove with their upcoming releases.
No Studio is Safe – Jacob MacDonald, Writer
With every passing week, the situation in the game industry becomes more grim. The latest closures by Xbox are regrettable, to say the least. If a studio can get canned after releasing a widely acclaimed hit like Hi-Fi Rush, no studio is safe.
Optically, the announcement felt careless and dismissive. Matt Booty’s mistaken naming of Alpha Dog Games says enough, in my opinion. When does the bleeding stop, and what do studios have to do to feel safe in this climate? Companies like Microsoft will have to answer these questions soon enough.
Xbox, Hold the Lies – Ham Solo, Content Creator & Writer
It feels like I was lied to and although I get it when buying large studios and employees I do understand there will be some layoffs. With that being said, I did not anticipate – especially with the recent layoffs of 1900+ people – that they’d still need to lay off studios that they said were going to have more people getting hired while also having DLC being worked on simultaneously.
It is really starting to feel like Xbox gathered all these infinity stones just to throw them into a river. All this admission for caring about smaller games and/or smaller studios seems to be more of a charade than an actual plan that they planned on pushing forward.
This is a stark reminder that Xbox has failed to find a vision (yet again) for its customers. Even when they get what they want and things seem to be in their favor!
Xbox Leadership Needs to be Better – Subeg Dhaliwal, Writer
The people at the top should be flat-out ashamed of themselves. I’m feeling like that Stephen A Smith meme right now. “We have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat-out deceived”. Hi-Fi Rush exudes creativity, love, and soul. But Microsoft just took Tango’s potential away with a snap of a finger.
As fans of games, are we going to be worried about every new release going forward from Xbox? Am I going to play Hellblade 2 with the idea in the back of my mind that this may be it? If the game doesn’t sell enough units or Game Pass subscriptions is it over for Ninja Theory? Strong leadership should carry the mindset of looking within themselves to see how to improve the situation, and for the love of God, stop pointing fingers at the creatives. It is not the developers’ assignment to make money, it is their job to make good video games. The leadership at Xbox needs to be better.
Don’t Blame the Developers – Joseph Repko, Associate Editor
As someone who was never really a fan of Arkane Studios, it is heartbreaking to see more people lose their livelihoods after being forced to make something they did not want to. New team members at Austin reportedly did not know what they were being hired for and those that knew, either quit or kept complaining and wishing Redfall would get canceled. Why should this studio have gone under just because they made someone they did not want to? It is cruel, and should never have happened.
For Tango Gameworks? I only fell in love with their recent titles, like Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the cultural phenomenon known as Hi-Fi Rush. The entire studio dedicated themselves to making stuff that was truly unique. To see their ambition and cultural impacts with so much success out of the gate be rewarded in a studio closure still feels unreal. It is a damn shame the game had post-story content that hinted at more to come, and that will never be. My heart goes out to everyone who poured so many years of their lives into the game and won awards to lose it all for no reason.
Alpha Dog Games and the entire studio of workers who made really fun mobile games with Mighty Doom deserved better too. So much talent was lost at a company that desperately needed them. I only hope they land on their feet at another studio that can give them secure positions where they can continue to be creative.
Bury the Line – Ty Tano, Co-Community Manager & Senior Writer
Layoffs are a sad reality within the gaming industry today. Every month, passionate developers and studios are shuttered, leaving their lives upended. It is beyond heartbreaking, especially in an industry so large and profitable as gaming.
The latest victims of said layoffs under Xbox’s banner are especially disheartening to future developer hopefuls. Job security in this space is horribly uncertain. Meanwhile, Xbox just proved one cannot even breathe a sigh of relief after shipping a successful product. Tango Gameworks delivered one of the most creative games this generation with Hi-Fi Rush, yet they too are being shut down.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King felt like a huge victory for them and their consumers. People felt pride in the Xbox brand and the vision leaders like Phil Spencer preached. Sealing that deal guaranteed a brighter future for developers and fans who held the line for Xbox, yet here we are six months later.
It is a disservice and an unrealistic ask to persuade newcomers into this industry when time and again creative aspirations born from blood, sweat, and tears are left high and dry in this career. People critique Sony/PlayStation for only pushing known IP or AAA titles, yet Xbox seems to be heading down that same path.
This tragedy is not solely attributable to Phil Spencer; however, it is disingenuous to push the narrative that Xbox is a consumer-friendly platform run by a large family of developers when you maim that family all in the name of “prioritizing high-impact titles.” The Xbox showcase is on the horizon. Great games will undoubtedly be shown, but are the developers behind these games safe to continue chasing their dreams?
The Human Impact is Important – Chris Jones, Co-Community Manager & Senior Writer
When it comes to the closures of the studios at Bethesda and in general I can’t sit here and say that I’m “savvy” in the business aspect of it all. What I can say is being a union representative, I know the impact it has on people, and it’s disheartening to see. Having dealt with layoffs at my job back in 2020. It impacts the people at the job, their families, and many others.
It’s a big trickling domino effect that’s going to be felt for a long time. Xbox/Microsoft have always said they wanted to make a push for studios across the country like Japan and others. When you see them shut down a studio that has seen success like Tango Gameworks, it baffles me. Foreign studios might look at this and be on the fence big time about certain future business deals/acquisitions now. Their success was from a shadow drop at that. So as I know layoffs and closures are commonplace in the work world some of these don’t make sense to me but I will wait and see what the further explanation from Xbox/Microsoft is. With the upcoming Xbox showcase and interview from Ryan McCaffrey with Phil Spencer and others hopefully, questions get answered.
Bethesda Studios Closures a Symptom of Wider Issues – Mahmood Ghaffar, Editor-in-Chief
The massive amount of layoffs in the industry is extremely concerning. Especially when gaming is at an all-time high, unfortunately, the Bethesda studio closures won’t be the end of it. Gaming needs to take a look at itself and protect the creatives and talents behind the game.
What is more concerning is that so much of gaming is concentrated around a handful of live-service titles. They are sucking up the vast majority of playtime and money spent. No doubt this is impacting the rest of the industry, as retailed boxed games can’t compete with these free-to-play behemoths. Something has to give, and it seems that gaming is on an unsustainable plateau.
