What just happened? It seems that making popular and successful games is no guarantee that a company will be safe. Microsoft has just announced the closure of four Bethesda studios as it looks to prioritize “high-impact titles.” Arkane Austin (Prey), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games are all being shuttered.
Arkane Studios has put out some excellent games in the past, including Dishonored, Prey, and Deathloop. Prey was developed by Arkane Austin, the Texas-based arm of the French video game developer, as was the much-maligned Redfall. It’s the Austin studio that Microsoft is closing, with development of Marvel’s Blade being passed on to Arkane Lyon.
Closing Arkane Austin means development on Redfall has now ended. The vampire co-op title will not receive its previously promised updates or new character DLC. The game and its servers will remain online, and Microsoft will provide a “make-good” offer to players who bought the Hero Pass as part of the premium Bite Back Edition or upgrade.
Pete Hines, senior vice president of global marketing & communications at Bethesda, last year said that Redfall would do a Fallout 76 and eventually gain more universal appeal.
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.
– Dinga Bakaba 451 (@DBakaba) May 7, 2024
Also on the chopping block is Tango Gameworks, the company behind The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Hi-Fi Rush.
Alpha Dog Games, maker of mobile game Mighty Doom, is being closed. Mighty Doom will be sunset on August 7 and players will no longer be able to make any purchases in the game.
Players interested in requesting a refund for purchased in-game currency can sign up here https://t.co/R7rL4LKsjk to receive details. pic.twitter.com/9g3kBoRGVw
– Alpha Dog Games (@AlphaDogGames) May 7, 2024
Roundhouse Games (formerly Human Head Studios) is being absorbed by The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios.
Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, said in an email to staff that the cuts were due to Microsoft’s “reprioritization of titles and resources.”
“Today I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams,” Booty writes. “These changes are grounded in prioritising high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades.”
Barring the failure of Redfall, the studios have been behind some successful titles. Microsoft itself called Hi-Fi Rush a “break out hit” last year. It recently won the Animation category at the BAFTA awards, too. But it seems the companies fell short in Microsoft’s eyes when it came to producing “high-impact” titles, which are where resources are being allocated.
In January, Microsoft announced that it was laying off 1,900 employees from its gaming division, the majority of which would come from Activision Blizzard, though some workers at the company’s Xbox and ZeniMax divisions were also affected.
