Microsoft has confirmed a number of Bethesda Studios are being closed down, with in-development projects getting scrapped and staff being let go.
Tango Gameworks, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush, and Redfall’s Arkane Austin are both being closed alongside Alpha Dog Games, the creator of mobile game Mighty Doom.
Elsewhere Roundhouse Studios will become part of ZeniMax Online Studios and help with The Elder Scrolls Online.
I just want to say that I love all the people at Arkane Austin so much. Great times, hard times, we went through so much, together. Of course, today’s news is terrible, for all of us. Your talent will lift you up, and I will do anything I can to help.
— Harvey Smith (@Harvey1966) May 7, 2024
Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty told staff in an email (via IGN) that the various closures and staff lay-offs were a bid to “prioritise high-impact titles” with Microsoft wanting to “further invest 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 reprioritisation of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us,” he added.
— Tango Gameworks (EN) (@TangoGameworks) May 7, 2024
He went on to confirm that Redfall would have no further updates, but will remain online. Booty also promised to provide “make good” offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC. Hi-Fi Rush will apparently “continue to be available to players on the platforms it is today”, but fans are worried that the licensed music in the game will mean that one day it’ll be taken offline completely. Mighty Doom will close down entirely at the start of August.
“These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals at these teams or the risks they took to try new things,” Booty added. “We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games.”
In January, Microsoft confirmed it was set to lay off 1,900 members of staff who work across Xbox and the newly acquired Activision Blizzard.
The news comes following a series of lay-offs across the gaming industry. Last month indie studio Flaming Fowl announced new project Ironmarked but also confirmed development had paused on the game and staff had been let go due to the “lack of funding” in the game industry and Square Enix confirmed a number of in-development projects have been scrapped, costing the studio £112million.
Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two also confirmed it had laid off hundreds of members of staff and cancelled a number of games, while Riot Games laid off over 500 members of staff and cancelled development on all League Of Legends spin-off titles.
In other news, Sony has reversed a controversial decision to force Helldivers 2 Steam players to connect to a PSN account in order to play the game, despite the service not being available in a lot of countries.