In a shocking turn of events, three studios were closed by Microsoft under the Bethesda banner, those being Arkane Austin, responsible for Redfall, the mobile-focused Alpha Dog Games, and the Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within studio, Tango Gameworks. It caused quite the stir in the industry, proving how scary it can be working in the game dev market. Now, Xbox boss, Phil Spencer, has addressed the closures.
During an IGN interview, Spencer stated that in the end he has to run a sustainable business even if it means making decisions he doesn’t “love.” This is the first public comment on the closures from the studio head. Merely days after the closures, Xbox president Sarah Bond assured attendees at a Bloomberg conference that the model is still healthy for the long-term.
“In the end, I’ve said over and over, I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make.
We will continue to go forward. We will continue to invest in what we’re trying to go do in Xbox and build the best business we can, which ensures we can continue to do shows like the one we just did.”
Unfortunately, this led to a lot of issues for ongoing projects. Redfall, for example, rushed out a patch to make the game playable offline and make good on some of the promises made, though fans would never see the promised heroes from the Bite Back Edition. Meanwhile, both Tango and Arkane were left high and dry with a sequel pitch for Hi-Fi Rush now gone forever and an immersive sim now gone, too.
Microsoft had acquired Bethesda in 2021 and following that found middling success with the releases from its studios — Arkane’s Redfall fell flat while Hi-Fi Rush, a game with a lot less marketing managed to win awards and praise. Starfield, meanwhile, has failed to capture the audience it was going for.
