Microsoft closes several Xbox game studios including Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog
A gut punch to the Xbox Game Studios portfolio
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Microsoft joins the downward trend of video game related layoffs as it shutters several gaming studios including Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog, and Tango Gameworks.
According to a report from IGN.com, an internal email sent to employees from Xbox Game Studio head Matt Booty details the list of studios on the chopping block as well as other changes to come because of a “reprioritization of titles and resources.”
As Booty puts it, Arkane Austin “will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda.” Arkane Austin’s latest game, Redfall, is no longer being worked on and its previous update will be the last gamers receive. However, the servers for Redfall remain online with Microsoft providing ‘make-good’ offers to gamers who recently bought Hero DLC for the game.
It’s unclear how long Microsoft plans to maintain the servers for Redfall.
Next up is Alpha Dog Studios, which is also ending with Mighty Doom sun setting on August 7, 2024, along with nixing the ability for gamers to make any future purchases in game.
As for Tango Gameworks, it follows the same fate as Alpha Dog with an official closure and no mention of current employees being shifted to other Xbox Game Studio properties. As for the indie hit Hi-Fi Rush, Microsoft says the game will “continue to be available to players on the platforms it is today.”
Microsoft will be folding Roundhouse Games into the larger ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS) portfolio to help build out The Elder Scrolls Online experience.
In less cutthroat news, Arkane Lyon, id Software, and Machine Games survive this round of cuts as they work to publish titles based on Marvel’s Blade Character and a new Indian Jones game title Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Booty ends his devastating email with several mentions of consolidation that will help Xbox Game Studios be “well-positioned to build new IP, explore new game concepts, and expand on our existing franchise.”
On the other side of things, Arkane Lyon Chief Dinga Bakaba fired off a series of tweets calling out Microsoft’s hypocrisy in spending almost $70 billion on games while also ushering in steep cuts to the same studios they just paid for.
The massive closure news follows a heads up from Microsoft signaling a plan to cut 1,900 jobs from its gaming workforce back in January 2024.
