Xbox
has
made
a
shocking
announcement
that
multiple
Bethesda
studios
are
being
closed.

Perhaps
the
biggest
surprise
is
that
Tango
Gameworks
is
being
shuttered.
While
not
a
commercial
powerhouse,
Tango
Gameworks
has
produced
several
beloved
games
such
as
Ghostwire
Tokyo,
but
is
probably
best
known
for
last
year’s
Hi-Fi
Rush
which
launched
to
nothing
but
positivity
from
critics
and
gamers
alike.
It
was
released
on
PlayStation
5
earlier
this
year,
but
we
don’t
know
how
well
it
did.
Presumably,
not
well
enough
for
Microsoft.

Arkane
Austin
is
another
studio
being
shut
down.
Arkane
Austin
developed
the
mind-blowing
Dishonored
which
never
did
draw
in
huge
audiences
but
as
nevertheless
excellent.
Likewise
Prey
never
did
find
huge
commercial
success
but
became
a
cult
classic.
Last
year
though,
may
have
been
the
nail
in
the
coffin
as
the
studio
released
Redfall
to
a
deafening
lack
of
interest
from
consumers
and
mediocre
reviews.

I
wasn’t
overly
impressed
with
it,
either.

Speaking
of
which,
Redfall’s
one
year
anniversary
was
just
last
week
and
stories
began
surfacing
that
people
who
bought
the
game’s
£100
special
edition
had
still
not
gotten
the
two
extra
playable
heroes
that
were
promised.
Arkane
Austin
has
now
confirmed
that
those
people
will
receive
some
sort
of
credit
equal
to
the
Hero
Pass’
value.
If
you
are
one
of
those
people,

head
over
HERE
to
sign
up
for
the
credit
process.
Legally,
I’m
not
sure
how
this
will
play
out
as
I
believe
some
regions
will
only
allow
cash
as
reimbursement
to
those
effected.

Mighty
Doom
developer
Alpha
Dog
Games
will
also
closed
down,
with
the
game
being
switched
off
on
August
7.

Roundhouse
Studios
isn’t
getting
closed
down
but
will
instead
be
merged
with
Elder
Scrolls
Online
developer
ZeniMax
Online
Studios.

In
a
refreshingly
frank
Tweet,
Arkan
Lyon
boss
Dinga
Bakaba
wrote:
“This
is
absolutely
terrible.
Permission
to
be
human
:
to
any
executive
reading
this,
friendly
reminder
that
video
games
are
an
entertainment/cultural
industry,
and
your
business
as
a
corporation
is
to
take
care
of
your
artists/entertainers
and
help
them
create
value
for
you.

“Don’t
throw
us
into
gold
fever
gambits,
don’t
use
us
as
strawmen
for
miscalculations/blind
spots,
don’t
make
our
work
environments
darwinist
jungles.
You
say
we
make
you
proud
when
we
make
a
good
game.
Make
us
proud
when
times
are
tough.
We
know
you
can,
we
seen
it
before.

“For
now,
great
teams
are
sunsetting
before
our
eyes
again,
and
it’s
a
fucking
gut
stab.
Lyon
is
safe,
but
please
be
tactful
and
discerning
about
all
this,
and
respect
affected
folks’
voice
and
leave
it
room
to
be
heard,
it’s
their
story
to
tell,
their
feelings
to
express.”

Numerous
other
Bethesda
employees
and
as
well
as
folk
from
across
the
industry
have
joined
in
to
voice
their
dismay
at
these
closures.

Eurogamer
already
has
a
great
article
about
the
subject.

Why
did
Microsoft
do
this?
Money,
of
course.
Such
is
business,
sadly.

IGN
managed
to
acquire
an
internal
Email
written
by
Matt
Booty
of
Xbox
in
which
he
writes:

“Today
I’m
sharing
changes
we
are
making
to
our
Bethesda
and
ZeniMax
teams.
These
changes
are
grounded
in
prioritizing
high-impact
titles
and
further
investing
in
Bethesda’s
portfolio
of
blockbuster
games
and
beloved
worlds
which
you
have
nurtured
over
many
decades.

“To
double
down
on
these
franchises
and
invest
to
build
new
ones
requires
us
to
look
across
the
business
to
identify
the
opportunities
that
are
best
positioned
for
success.
This
reprioritization
of
titles
and
resources
means
a
few
teams
will
be
realigned
to
others
and
that
some
of
our
colleagues
will
be
leaving
us.”

Closures
and
job
losses
like
this
are
always
tough
to
swallow,
especially
when
it
involves
a
company
so
vast
and
so
rich
that
it
can
easily
afford
to
keep
studios
running
even
when
they
are
not
producing
huge
monetary
gains.
In
smaller
companies
with
limited
resources
it’s
a
sad
but
understandable
decision
that
needs
to
be
made,
but
for
Microsoft
it
ultimately
costs
them
very
little
to
keep
talented
studios
running,
studios
that
may
not
produce
games
which
sell
millions
but
that
do
craft
interesting,
fun
experiences
such
as
Hi-Fi
Rush.

I
wish
the
best
of
lucky
to
everyone
who
has
lost
their
job.