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News Xbox closes Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and others.

StretchNStripes said:
Is Xbox like... hurting that badly? I genuinely don't see the point in this otherwise. They're putting so many people out of jobs and it feels so dire.

What is the end goal in all this? To finally start making returns on their acquisition of Activision/Blizzard? To make up for losses so they can save face? Like... I wish I could understand these decisions. Actually, scratch that, I don't think I want to understand why someone could justify this kind of behavior.
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They said they are doing this to double down on established IP. I imagine everything going on with Xbox right now - between the 3rd party pivot and these closures - has to do with Game Pass flaming out and Starfield being met with a collective shrug. Satya is probably angry as shit at Phil talking him into pissing away over a hundred billion dollars.
 
I'm just...
...I don't even...
...I mean outside of improving some figures on a financial spreadsheet, this really makes no sense...
...bloody hell...
 
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StretchNStripes said:
Is Xbox like... hurting that badly? I genuinely don't see the point in this otherwise. They're putting so many people out of jobs and it feels so dire.

What is the end goal in all this? To finally start making returns on their acquisition of Activision/Blizzard? To make up for losses so they can save face? Like... I wish I could understand these decisions. Actually, scratch that, I don't think I want to understand why someone could justify this kind of behavior.

Anyways, my heart goes out to those affected. Hope they can bounce back on their feet, they all sound like talented people.
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no they aren't "hurting" by any real measure but this is what happens when you want to maximize profits above everything else and also why not one company should have that many studios under them.
 
Lugia667 said:
yeah Mattrick is the one who started this whole shitshow in the first place. He will always be the worst
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Mattrick, for all of his incompetence, wasn't the one trying to juice the Xbox division with a flood of M&As that led to where Microsoft is this morning.
 
Enpsty said:
I think Don Matrick damaged the brand.
But Spencer obliterated it.
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I just disagree cause I don't think Spencer had a chance to reverse what Mattrick did with the Xbone lol. And it happened at such a critical time for the industry when it really started to matter what ecosystem you were into. I'm not saying Spiencer is absolved but uh...he should shut up more lol.

Look the reality is, Xbox will put out another system in 3 years. He'll get fired in 4, if not before the release of the next xbox.
 
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Complete mismanagement from the higher ups at Microsoft, as has become pretty much expected.

If you are trying to run a platform or a subscription service, then the studios under your umbrella are absolutely key to that. They are the ones who keep making new games to release on the console/service, and are what make you stand out from the competition.

If they release a game that doesn't hit the mark, then you take the lessons learned from it, and you work with them to make something that lands better next time.

Fuck, Microsoft has already all but admitted that their shuttering of studios in previous gens (Lionhead etc al) completely fucked them, because they didn't have the development capacity to keep up with Sony and Nintendo when you came to releasing exclusives. Fable hasn't had a game since the 360 gen, and we're still waiting for the next one to come out.

Just absolute clown shoes corporate management. Even if you're a heartless corporate vampire who doesn't care about workers, shutting down four separate studios is a shotgun blast to the foot of your ability to keep developing and releasing a diverse portfolio of games.


Lugia667 said:
quote from the late Satoru Iwata

"If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, employee morale will decrease. I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world."
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It is absolutely clear that Spencer isn't half the leader that Iwata was.

And for all their many flaws, Nintendo at least understand the value in long term management of partners and subsidiaries through good times and bad, rather than axing studios at the first sign of trouble.
 
FUCK MICROSOFT!!

DAMN THAT GOT ME MAD.

HOW THE FUCK THEY CLOSE A STUDIO THAT LITERALLY JUST RELEASED A CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AND PROBABLY SUCCESSFUL GAME???????

AND ANOTHER ONE THAT ALSO RELEASED A GAME THAT WAS RUSHED????

Massive layoffs.

Studios closing.

I mean, how on earth are the studios supposed to make good games when they're scared as hell to be next one getting shut down?

I mean what the fuck really, closing a studio that had a regular output of critically acclaimed games for years. It makes no fucking sense.
 
Procheno said:
Why couldn't they sell them to Capcom or Nintendo or somebody
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Probably because neither would be interested unless the price was comically low? You generally buy a studio for the IP or for the talent. Tango's IP, if they even own Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush, are not big enough to warrant a purchase and would even be redundant for Capcom. As for the talent, those developers can simply get hired directly by Capcom or Nintendo.
 
Damn... Arkane Austin and Tango.

MS Bethesda studio consolidation is essentially "we see Fallout doing excellent right now so prepare to see a lot more (and little else, until it peters out again)."

It's corporate sidewinder after sidewinder with them lately. You'd think, after all these years, MS of all companies could curate decent software from their talented teams but here we are, again. Throw the baby out with the bathwater but don't forget to grab those silver certs first.
 
I'm just...shuttering Tango is mindboggling. Hi-Fi Rush is the best game to have come from Microsoft Game Studios in years. Critically acclaimed, a devoted following, a Japanese studio on their books, a fresh new IP that adds value to Gamepass...and they close the studio.

It's utterly baffling, and it makes an absolute mockery of everything Phil has said about wanting to expand the appeal of GamePass.

Pro-tip Microsoft management, if you keep treating your studios and teams like this, then you will forever remain in third place.
 
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I have to imagine that it's only a matter of time before Ninja Theory shutters with this news. Hellblade will have a cost a shit-ton to make while selling at a budget title price, it may as well be a guaranteed failure in MS's eyes. I also imagine they'll dissolve Obsidian after Avowed and merge the remains into Bethesda Game Studios. God, FUCK mergers.
 
Why not let them go? Just like they did with Toys for Bob? I'm pretty sure there are many potential buyers for a studio like Tango, such as Netease. But I know the answer and it's depressing: It would take time and they need to increase the profits fast.
 
Oh hey, absolutely fuck Microsoft and Xbox. And the Xbox leadership. Including Phil Specincer, who is a fucking disaster.

I genuinely don’t know how anyone could supposed Xbox from this point on. Any slight bit of good will they had is gone.

Now I’m genuinely concerned for Ninja Theory and Obsidian if things don’t work out with the upcoming games.
 
I never want to hear “but this acquisition is good because now this dormant IP will surely be able to return under these developers!” as some sort of reason to support consolidation ever again, because goddamn.

How Tango and all these other studios were treated by Microsoft is just heartbreaking.
 
Starphanluke said:
Oh hey, absolutely fuck Microsoft and Xbox. And the Xbox leadership. Including Phil Specincer, who is a fucking disaster.

I genuinely don’t know how anyone could supposed Xbox from this point on. Any slight bit of good will they had is gone.

Now I’m genuinely concerned for Ninja Theory and Obsidian if things don’t work out with the upcoming games.
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If Hi-Fi Rush is any indication, reception won't matter to their survival.
 
Most of these layoffs have been upsetting but I think this is the first to have viscerally annoyed me.

With Xbox sales - and Game Pass revenue in the US - flatlining, and Microsoft trying to position as a bigger games publisher, shuttering studios that would've helped grow their library seems like a very shortsighted move. All that talent - gone; and certainly I would expect few to work on a Microsoft IP again. The bet on bigger IP like Fallout makes sense at first, until you realise that the continued mismanagement of most Microsoft studios means that they're not even making ample use of their IP to begin with - and if "ample use" just means a load of terrible GAAS games (in an already crowded market), then I can't say the future of Xbox is looking bright.

But don't worry, they've got a handheld on the horizon soon! It might have no games, but it's a handheld!

Armoured_Bear said:
Apart from silly fanboys, did anyone of sound mind celebrate?
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Absolutely, people celebrated. And I wouldn't have blamed them at the time.
 
Yeah I'm Ex-Xbox now. I quit the Xboxera forums after selling mine after finishing Unicorn Overlord (that's where I pre ordered it) when it was clear earlier this year everything was collapsing. Phil Spencer and co will have to move literal mountains to ever even make me wanna buy their prebuilt PC or PC handheld. Embracer-tier company.
 
Lord Azrael said:
Tango shutdown just makes me think of this

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Again, exactly the reason why I can't help but imagine how Mikami must feel throughout all this.

He left because he was pretty sure, especially after a hit like Hi-Fi, that the studio was safe. Then a little more than year later after his departure, they do this.
 
buildz said:
Absolutely, people celebrated. And I wouldn't have blamed them at the time.
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I would, and I did. I distinctly remember people on this forum celebrating and thinking nothing bad would come of the ActiBlizz merger because they were so brainlessly focused on the short-term and Microsoft's lip-service to respecting the ongoing unionization efforts. I also remember telling people like this that a day like this was inevitable, but they didn't care.

Idiots.
 
Hailinel said:
I would, and I did. I distinctly remember people on this forum celebrating and thinking nothing bad would come of the ActiBlizz merger because they were so brainlessly focused on the short-term and Microsoft's lip-service to respecting the ongoing unionization efforts. I also remember telling people like this that a day like this was inevitable, but they didn't care.

Idiots.
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In the history of gaming, this kind of "consolidation" has never, ever been a good thing and it's even less likely now at this current savage stage of capitalism. How could anyone seriously be optimistic?
 
Unbelievable in multiple ways.

I understand - dislike but understand - why Sony doesn't care about nothing but tentpole releases and GaaS titles because they can count on third parties filling in the smaller and uniquely shaped holes in their portfolio. But if game pass and the need to differentiate themselves from their competitor that comes from being in last place can't get Microsoft to value creative mid-budget offerings, all hope is lost for Xbox.

Uncle Phil is gonna have to half zip-up his comfiest apology sweater to make gamers trust him once more after this.
 
Armoured_Bear said:
Why?
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A lot of people saw it as additional job security. Some obviously were skeptic, but for smaller studios that acquisition and the hot air being blown into their faces from the execs probably seemed like a good thing initially. Then the goalposts moved. And again. And again. It's awful. These folks got screwed big time. Hopefully a lot can find jobs at the other local studios, but I doubt many planned ahead or had any notion this was an immediate threat.

MS priorities have shifted a lot since. They seem to have 180d after Gamespass stalled yoy and hardware sales are behind even the Xbox One in the same timeframe; they're looking for their God of War type big AAA breakout now. They want to be a AAA machine when the reality is they're going back to just being ABK, minus any Xbox influence.

Spoiler: It ain't gonna be Hellblade 2 :(
 
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Armoured_Bear said:
Why?
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To answer your question, let's consider why - asides from general trends in the industry and global events that nobody could've easily foreseen - these shutdowns are likely happening in the first place:

  • The lack of growth - and in some cases, decline, of Game Pass (figures from the various court cases, Mat Piscatella, etc.)
  • Declining hardware and software sales, with Starfield - the second or third major Series X/S exclusive - making zero long-term difference
  • The Activision Blizzard acquisition similarly making little difference, although it hasn't been even a year yet

Those celebrating the acquisition couldn't have easily predicted that these would've happened. In particular, Microsoft never revealed Game Pass figures, so most assumed the platform was doing okay (if not great - and indeed, in hindsight, this should've been a red flag). And, of course, nobody could've forseen Starfield - the big new game from Bethesda! - doing absolutely nothing to shift the needle the month after it released, due to the lacklustre quality of the game.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that higher-up figures in Microsoft are demanding money is clawed back, as the "strategy" - if there is one - clearly isn't working. And if the "strategy" moving forward is to further splinter the Xbox lineup with a handheld nobody wants, then I can't imagine what the future of Xbox looks like in a few years time.
 
remember a few years ago when Kamiya was practically begging Microsoft to buy platinum?
 
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TreIII said:
Again, exactly the reason why I can't help but imagine how Mikami must feel throughout all this.
He left because he was pretty sure, especially after a hit like Hi-Fi, that the studio was safe. Then a little more than year later after his departure, they do this.
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Seems a little naive for a guy who has been in the business for so long, doesn't it?
 
IMO we should be directing 99.9% of outrage over these layoffs toward Microsoft. I think trying to vilify random forum posters who may have supported industry mergers in the past is taking focus away from the REAL villains here.
 
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buildz said:
To answer your question, let's consider why - asides from general trends in the industry and global events that nobody could've easily foreseen - these shutdowns are likely happening in the first place:

  • The lack of growth - and in some cases, decline, of Game Pass (figures from the various court cases, Mat Piscatella, etc.)
  • Declining hardware and software sales, with Starfield - the second or third major Series X/S exclusive - making zero long-term difference
  • The Activision Blizzard acquisition similarly making little difference, although it hasn't been even a year yet

Those celebrating the acquisition couldn't have easily predicted that these would've happened. In particular, Microsoft never revealed Game Pass figures, so most assumed the platform was doing okay (if not great - and indeed, in hindsight, this should've been a red flag). And, of course, nobody could've forseen Starfield - the big new game from Bethesda! - doing absolutely nothing to shift the needle the month after it released, due to the lacklustre quality of the game.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that higher-up figures in Microsoft are demanding money is clawed back, as the "strategy" - if there is one - clearly isn't working. And if the "strategy" moving forward is to further splinter the Xbox lineup with a handheld nobody wants, then I can't imagine what the future of Xbox looks like in a few years time.
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Look, I'm not here to say "I told you so" because I wasn't especially vocal about the acquisition, so I don't really have skin in the game. I do want to poke a couple of holes in your narrative though.

The lack of growth in Gamespass could be predicted precisely because of the lack of transparency. It's the Netflix model. It's an infinite growth model. It has never proven to be sustainable. It was a red flag with foresight not hindsight.

More importantly this is not a failure for Microsoft. This is the strategy working as intended. When you are big enough that you can pursue a strategy of aggressive M&A, you don't expect every acquisition to pay off. You are intending to shut down all sectors that aren't profit making. It may be that, by some kind of accounting black magic, Microsoft could have earned enough money to not shut down these studios. But shutting them down was always in the cards.
 
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