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

I was with XBox when Gamepass got going and optimistic that they can at least put out some banger games with the teams they have. The extreme buyout of half the industry was never good, but honestly I thought it would take a little longer until they straight up closed studios with successful products that shipped...

At this point just make them all independent again and draw up Gamepass contracts if you really need to, damn
 
Have to admit, I’m seriously debating selling my Xbox now. The multiplatform stuff was already a factor, but now this? Just leaves a gross taste in my mouth.

The moment I see some sort of confirmation that most of Xbox’s output is going multiplatform, I’m out. Gamepass ain’t worth it for me at this point, no matter how much I love it.
 
What scares me is that the US economy is in a great place right now, and we're still seeing this. All of these layoffs are the result of no more zero interest rates leading to greater risk management / cost cutting, but the unemployment rate is super low and actual quarterly reports are still pretty strong for all these tech companies, and for big US companies in general. I mean, the last two years have been boom time in the markets.

What happens if there's an actual downturn? Feels like the whole industry is ready to burn if it happens.
 
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Thunder84 said:
Have to admit, I’m seriously debating selling my Xbox now. The multiplatform stuff was already a factor, but now this? Just leaves a gross taste in my mouth.

The moment I see some sort of confirmation that most of Xbox’s output is going multiplatform, I’m out. Gamepass ain’t worth it for me at this point, no matter how much I love it.
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Same here. I just bought the damn thing partially because I liked the trajectory Microsoft was heading in, but after this? I'm so fucking pissed right now. If the games are going multiplatform and Microsoft is closing the studios who make them, why the fuck do I own the damn system?
 
Yeah, I really don't believe Microsoft is actually in the business of making good games. If they were, they wouldn't be eager to blow up studios who make award winning games.
 
TreIII said:
To be fair: What was Mikami supposed to do, otherwise, though? He's a creator at heart, who wanted to move on to do other things, but ideally wanted to make sure that Tango's position would've been secured after his departure.

For all sakes and purposes, he did his part. It's Xbox who didn't operate in good faith.
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That's true! I think it can be expected though. From my understanding is it's a studio for him to do those creative things. If he feels like he can't do it there, what are they there for?
 
Let’s blame our developers that our stupid ”you don’t have to buy games“ scheme isn’t panning out

Hi-Fi Rush is definitely a game I could have seen selling more than enough to make back its budget and profit in its first year even just on Xbox if it wasn’t for Gamepass. But because all first party games are put into a giant pool together, smaller, less essential titles take the blame and are the first to go to compensate for losses on the larger projects. This is the issue with the subscription model and the loss of a direct correlation of who bought what
 
Microsoft just had to ruin my good mood god fucking dammit.

Fuck the games industry. Every time I step out of my Nintendo and Indies bubble I get burned. Fuck Microsoft, fuck Todd Howard for selling it to them, and most of all fuck the stock market because all companies care about nowadays is that. Pretty much every single modern game failure can be attributed to corporate executive interference to help them keep shareholders happy.

Phil Spencer, how about you get off your ass and do your fucking job instead of playing the father figure? The failure of the Microsoft ecosystem is on you.

FUCK.
 
Hailinel said:
He is doing his job. His job is being a corporate executive.
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Is he though? Where are the fucking games at then? How do you release only four good console exclusives in three years, port two of them to other consoles, and then shut down the studio behind one of them? We can shit on Sony all we want but at least they're putting out good games. What the hell is Microsoft doing?

(Just to be clear, my anger is not at you, it's at Microsoft)
 
Magic-Man said:
Is he though? Where are the fucking games at then? How do you release only four good console exclusives in three years, port two of them to other consoles, and then shut down the studio behind one of them? We can shit on Sony all we want but at least they're putting out good games. What the hell is Microsoft doing?

(Just to be clear, my anger is not at you, it's at Microsoft)
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I didn't say he was doing his job well. It's pretty clear at this point that he put all of his eggs in the Game Pass basket and then threw the basket off a cliff.
 
ImpendingFoil said:
They have metrics for who played what, how long, engagement, etc.

Hi Fi Rush performed better than the expected metrics for its release and they still shut Tango down.
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Right, but when the question becomes “will funding them another project actually make us back more in however much money we invest in them in new subs”, or even “will not funding another project from them lose us a significant amount of subs“, generally the answer is probably not. This is why nextflix/streaming services cancel shows that people actually like all the time
 
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Hocot8 said:
no. Don Matrick essentially killed the Xbox brand. Phil Spencer is trying to revive a corpse but he's a corporate puppet so he'll likely never succeed.
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tbh there's really only so much you can blame on Mattrick at this point.

Phil actually did a decent amount of work to bring third parties back around him, and get people at least affectionate towards the Xbox brand, at least from 2016-2019. and Game Pass is favorably viewed by fans/indie devs. But it's clearly not sustainable because of the revolving door of big-name games to sell the service (mostly because it's still too cheap), with not enough of a first-party allure to build a solid foundation for that service. and eventually the plan became clear that since Microsoft couldn't build it, they'd leverage their money and buy it.

He said on that KF podcast he did, and i'm paraphrasing, "it's not like we can just build great games and suddenly attract people to the ecosystem" but like...they totally could've? that's precisely what ecosystems are built on. his meaning is that people are more ingrained in other ecosystems but so what? truly great games are always THE incentive to get people into an ecosystem.

Phil was obviously working with a blank check and given the CEO's blessing to do what he needs to do to build the service but that's gone now. He's had a decade+ to right the ship and he can't; especially after this. Even considering the DRM Mattrick era, it's never felt more cooked.
 
Armoured_Bear said:
Apart from silly fanboys, did anyone of sound mind celebrate?
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I did, I thought Phil looked at Nintendo’s success of having a large portfolio of 1st party releases, some of which sell gangbusters whilst some can’t crack a million but overall with nearly monthly releases it makes the console a must own for most gamers, especially when your trying to sell a service like gamepass and you need a steady flow of games to keep subscribers subscribed.
I’m feeling really stupid now.
 
Ojoloco said:
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I really appreciate Johanas for his work on Hi-Fi Rush. His passion, direction and dedication are so clear to see in the game and in the many interviews he took just discussing it. The pride he took in Tango Gameworks is clear to see, he is the clear core of the studio. This tweet is legitimately heartbreaking to see. He made a critically successful title far and away better than anything Xbox has released within the last 5 years... but that wasn't good enough apparently.

Above anything else... this saddens me. Your game can be a critical darling, sell well (according to Xbox), defy all expectations... and it can be just gone in a blink. I don't think this is acceptable and yet nothing will change.

After last year and all the praise Xbox themselves lumped onto the title, seeing them immediately jump ship and leave the talented people at Tango Gameworks hanging... that's just an insult to the studio, the producers, the artists, the musicians, the designers and coders... and this man. I'm happy people are seeing it as such because it at least means it shows that people do care about the artists behind games... and it also means people have finally realized that Xbox doesn't.
 
I wonder what Nintendo will do next week to complete the hat-trick.
 
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Hopefully the Tango Gameworks devs either start a new company or land at Nintendo/Monolith Soft. I don't trust Square Enix or Bandai Namco. Maybe Sega/Atlus?
 
Magic-Man said:
Microsoft just had to ruin my good mood god fucking dammit.

Fuck the games industry. Every time I step out of my Nintendo and Indies bubble I get burned. Fuck Microsoft, fuck Todd Howard for selling it to them, and most of all fuck the stock market because all companies care about nowadays is that. Pretty much every single modern game failure can be attributed to corporate executive interference to help them keep shareholders happy.

Phil Spencer, how about you get off your ass and do your fucking job instead of playing the father figure? The failure of the Microsoft ecosystem is on you.

FUCK.
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Todd Howard in here like

Todd's just the director at the part of Bethesda that makes Fallout/Elder Scrolls, he didn't have any control whether or not Bethesda as a whole sold to Microsoft
 
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Hocot8 said:
no. Don Matrick essentially killed the Xbox brand. Phil Spencer is trying to revive a corpse but he's a corporate puppet so he'll likely never succeed.
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No he didn’t lol. Phil has had a decade and infinite money and still isn’t just not making gains but losing ground. How many times has Nintendo rebounded from significantly more dire situations with less means than what Don Mattrick months of bad PR left them with
 
I genuinely do not understand what Xbox is doing this gen. Laying off tons of talented workers sucks enough, but it’s even worse when you consider how nobody benefits from this in the long term. Hi Fi Rush was a massive success story, being lavishly praised and admitted as a success by Xbox themselves. Tango Gameworks (and really all the companies they destroyed) absolutely could’ve put out tons more great games like Hi Fi, and said games would go to add tons of value to game pass, I mean Hi Fi Rush was downloaded three million times on game pass. Yet instead of capitalizing on the immense talent at their fingertips (and maybe, ya know, having them develop exclusives for their 500 dollar box), they admit defeat to Nintendo and Sony, flip flop between seemingly wanting to go third party and sticking with the consoles, and spend nearly 100 billion dollars acquiring two companies (Activision blizzard and Bethesda) that are in the worst rut of either of their entire histories. And what’s more, this is probably gonna turn off so many developers from joining Xbox. I mean why would you join a company that at any point can shut down your operations even when you bring them success beyond your wildest hopes. And its not like Xbox is in dire straights financially right now, they’re owned by microsoft. They have no reason not to play the long game and develop a force of talented studios even if it may take some time and effort, just look at Nintendo!
 
Avowed doesn't look like hit potential and not confident in the Outer Worlds 2 being given the budget and time to be a major hit. They're supposed to be doing Avowed, Outer Worlds 2, and an unannounced game. That's a lot. They probably have loads of contractors working on all their games or these games are mid-budget affairs. Obsidian to be Bethesda IP support and spin off studio. inXile, that Clockwork Revolution trailer doesn't scream major hit to me. inXile to the Bethesda IP support and spin off title life
 
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Soul Skater said:
No he didn’t lol. Phil has had a decade and infinite money and still isn’t just not making gains but losing ground. How many times has Nintendo rebounded from significantly more dire situations with less means than what Don Mattrick months of bad PR left them with
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the thing is Nintendo only competes with themselves really. MS competes with Sony. Nintendo worries about themselves and focuses on their goals to such a strict T. Microsoft does not because they lost sight of what made them good and have been trying to remake themselves. The Xbone destroyed what brand they had from the 360.

The one thing I'll give you is the money. They used too much money on buying studios rather than buying marketing rights like Sony did.
 
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What an absolute clownshow of a company. I don't even know where to begin, fuck

Xbox is a failure of a platform. They ran out of reasons to draw people into their ecosystem, allowed their own IPs to atrophy (remember when Halo was a system seller?), so they bet everything on Gamepass. When that wasn't enough, they tried to brute force it to success by spending an ungodly amount of money to get their hands on big IPs, and now their smaller in-house devs are paying the price for this shortsighted acquisition strategy. Ridiculous.

I'm sure glad that Nintendo is doing as well as they are and are even letting their smaller teams thrive these days, because this industry is grim as hell these days
 
Please do not bring insensitive console war rhetoric into a thread about game studios being shut down. - Zellia, Party Sklar, big lantern ghost
Funny thing among mainstream gamers Microsoft and Xbox are seen as much better video game companies than Nintendo because of Nintendo hating emulation and sending DMCAs all the time. But when it comes to their own developers no chance that Nintendo is worse than Microsoft, Nintendo had faith in their developers even during the Wii U bomb. Had Microsoft had a Wii U like bomb they would have devestated their dev teams totally.
 
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Brock Reiher said:
That's true! I think it can be expected though. From my understanding is it's a studio for him to do those creative things. If he feels like he can't do it there, what are they there for?
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Likely for the same reason Mikami broke away from the Clover/Platinum family, after a while. Feeling he had done everything he could with Tango, Mikami just wanted to a chance to keep doing different things while he still has the ability to do so, while also helping to foster new talent in the industry.

Besides, if he had stayed at Tango, the powers that be at Bethesda and Xbox wanted him to keep making horror games. Which is the very thing that Mikami says he doesn't want to do.
 
Just woke up to see the news about Arkane Austin. Arkane has been one of my favorite studios for awhile so I'm sad to see them losing so much, but at the same time it's not entirely unexpected. They've been suffering from losing talent since around the time Dishonored 2 and Prey dropped. Being horribly mismanaged and dropping a couple stinkers in a row was the death spiral I'm familiar with seeing.

Such a huge shame to finally see Austin close still. I hope everybody who lost their job today can end up okay in the end.
 
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Danny said:
Funny thing among mainstream gamers Microsoft and Xbox are seen as much better video game companies than Nintendo because of Nintendo hating emulation and sending DMCAs all the time. But when it comes to their own developers no chance that Nintendo is worse than Microsoft, Nintendo had faith in their developers even during the Wii U bomb. Had Microsoft had a Wii U like bomb they would have devestated their dev teams totally.
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This is a horribly inappropriate thing to be posting in a thread about a major layoff that just happened. Like, my god can you not make this some weirdo fanboy/console war bullshit right now?
 
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