* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, August 29, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Netflix House’ entertainment complexes are coming. Here’s when they open – Los Angeles Times

    Exciting News: Netflix’s House Entertainment Complexes Are Opening Soon!

    ‘Big Brother’s’ Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy – El Paso Inc.

    Big Brother’s Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy

    ‘SNL’ Parts Ways With Emil Wakim Amid Rumored Season 51 Cast Shakeup – yahoo.com

    SNL Shakes Up Season 51 Cast with Emil Wakim’s Surprising Exit

    Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of Taylor Swift? – YouGov

    Do You Love Taylor Swift or Not? Share Your Thoughts!

    Upload Season 4 Review – yahoo.com

    Upload Season 4 Review: A Thrilling New Chapter Unveiled

    ‘The Roses’ review: Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch sparkle in dark comedy – Yakima Herald-Republic

    The Roses’ Review: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch Shine in Dark Comedy Delight

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

    13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

    Japan’s legacy LCD and chip technology find new home in India – Nikkei Asia

    How Japan’s Breakthrough LCD and Chip Technologies Are Driving Innovation in India

    ITSWC 2025: Thursday sessions guide – Traffic Technology Today

    Your Ultimate Guide to Thursday Sessions at ITSWC 2025

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Showcases Manufacturing Innovations – Modern Machine Shop

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Unveils Cutting-Edge Manufacturing Innovations

    US-ROK Technology Cooperation Faces Rising Tensions – The National Interest

    Rising Tensions Put US-South Korea Technology Partnership to the Test

    The Role of AI and Technology in Shaping the Future of Interactive Entertainment – Technology Org

    How AI and Technology Are Transforming the Future of Interactive Entertainment

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Netflix House’ entertainment complexes are coming. Here’s when they open – Los Angeles Times

    Exciting News: Netflix’s House Entertainment Complexes Are Opening Soon!

    ‘Big Brother’s’ Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy – El Paso Inc.

    Big Brother’s Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy

    ‘SNL’ Parts Ways With Emil Wakim Amid Rumored Season 51 Cast Shakeup – yahoo.com

    SNL Shakes Up Season 51 Cast with Emil Wakim’s Surprising Exit

    Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of Taylor Swift? – YouGov

    Do You Love Taylor Swift or Not? Share Your Thoughts!

    Upload Season 4 Review – yahoo.com

    Upload Season 4 Review: A Thrilling New Chapter Unveiled

    ‘The Roses’ review: Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch sparkle in dark comedy – Yakima Herald-Republic

    The Roses’ Review: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch Shine in Dark Comedy Delight

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

    13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

    Japan’s legacy LCD and chip technology find new home in India – Nikkei Asia

    How Japan’s Breakthrough LCD and Chip Technologies Are Driving Innovation in India

    ITSWC 2025: Thursday sessions guide – Traffic Technology Today

    Your Ultimate Guide to Thursday Sessions at ITSWC 2025

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Showcases Manufacturing Innovations – Modern Machine Shop

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Unveils Cutting-Edge Manufacturing Innovations

    US-ROK Technology Cooperation Faces Rising Tensions – The National Interest

    Rising Tensions Put US-South Korea Technology Partnership to the Test

    The Role of AI and Technology in Shaping the Future of Interactive Entertainment – Technology Org

    How AI and Technology Are Transforming the Future of Interactive Entertainment

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Entertainment

The Xbox Fallout: Breaking Down Microsoft’s Worst Gaming Week In Years

May 12, 2024
in Entertainment
The Xbox Fallout: Breaking Down Microsoft’s Worst Gaming Week In Years
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It has been a very bad week for Xbox Game Studios. On Tuesday, May 7, Microsoft announced it would shut down three studios: Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush creators Tango Gameworks, and Mighty Doom studio Alpha Dog Games. On top of this, Roadhouse Games is being absorbed into Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. It was a brutal day of carnage for the video game industry, and it cast a shadow over the Xbox brand. With services like Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft has long created an image of being pro-player and pro-game, all while spending billions of dollars to acquire companies and IP that had been operating independently, and paying lip service to the idea that, under the Xbox umbrella, these studios would remain free to create distinctive games that buck larger industry trends. To say that these actions call that reputation into question would be an understatement.

Thank You, PS Plus, For Making My Backlog Even Bigger

The fallout has spanned all sides of the industry. Fans are despondent after studios that created good games vanished. Developers are now polishing off resumes when they were just working on games moments prior to the announcement. And players and developers alike are wondering just what Xbox’s plan was when acquiring Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, if it’s resulted in shuttered studios and gutted games.

It’s a messy web, but let’s try to untangle it, starting with the initial announcement.

Xbox guts Bethesda’s stable of studios

It all started Tuesday, May 7. Xbox employees were sent an email from Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, informing them that Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Games would be shuttering, and that Roadhouse Games would be folded into ZeniMax Online Studios. Booty’s email said this was so the company could focus on “high-impact” games. This meant Redfall’s DLC would be canceled, with Xbox saying it would provide “make-good” offers to people who’d pre-ordered.

Some roles across Bethesda’s publishing and corporate teams are also being eliminated so Microsoft can “invest more deeply in [its] portfolio of games and new IP.”

The public backlash was loud and immediate

Fans were shocked by the announcement. Redfall still had upcoming content its developers were working on up to the moment they were laid off. According to Xbox’s statements, Hi-Fi Rush had been a critical and commercial success even before it came to PlayStation 5 this year. The entire move felt senseless, and fans and developers mourned the affected studios.

These shutdowns followed nearly 2,000 layoffs across Xbox in January, primarily affecting workers at Activision Blizzard, another multi-studio company Microsoft acquired last year. Xbox’s business plan in recent years has been to buy existing studios and properties, ranging from giant companies like Bethesda and Activision to smaller studios like Psychonauts developer Double Fine and Hellblade studio Ninja Theory. Now that these acquisitions, rather than ushering in new eras of financial security and creative freedom for the studios, are seeing some of them shut down, Xbox’s strategy is being brought into question. Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft’s Gaming division, who has been the face of the brand since 2014 and spearheaded Xbox’s pro-gamer image, is now under new scrutiny. One Fallout 76 player even nuked Spencer’s in-game camp. While that was weeks in the making, its timing was certainly celebrated.

Some industry figures like ex-Blizzard president Mike Ybarra called for sympathy for Spencer, claiming these layoffs hurt him “as much as anyone else,” comments which were criticized as insensitive to the lives that had been uprooted by these decisions.

A viral clip of Spencer and current Xbox president Sarah Bond started circulating again in which the two spoke about Lionhead Studios. The team was known for creating the Black & White and Fable games, and was acquired by Microsoft in 2006 and shut down in 2016. The clip in question has Bond and Spencer discussing how they wanted to reflect on that experience and not make the same mistakes that led to that closure. Spencer said, “You acquire a studio for what they’re great at now, and your job is to help them accelerate how they do what they do. Not them accelerate what you do.” Here we are, eight years later, and it seems developers are still punished for both live-service pivots and experimental passion projects.

Internally, Xbox employees are getting mixed messages

Following this announcement, Xbox held a town hall meeting for its employees, leading to internal confusion. As reports of what leadership said surfaced, the comments painted conflicting images of Xbox’s strategy in light of its actions this week. According to Bloomberg, Booty did not specify why Tango Gameworks was shut down but still praised Hi-Fi Rush. However, he did claim Arkane Austin’s shutdown was not tied to Redfall’s poor reception and performance.

While the contrasting performance of these studios was declared a nonfactor in their closure, Booty suggested that one thing which did contribute to the decision was the fact that they had just released games in 2023 and would likely not see another release for several years. Tango Gameworks was reportedly getting ready to pitch a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush, while Arkane Austin was looking to work on an “immersive sim” game similar to the studio’s previous work, such as Dishonored and Prey.

Booty also claimed that Xbox and Bethesda’s resources were spread too thin, reportedly comparing those resources to “peanut butter on bread.” According to Jill Braff, the head of ZeniMax Studios, this was meant to streamline Bethesda so that it could focus on fewer games at once.

“It’s hard to support nine studios all across the world with a lean central team with an ever-growing plate of things to do,” she said.

The cast of Redfall faces an enemy.

Image: Arkane Austin

The criticism then becomes: If Microsoft didn’t have the bandwidth and resources to support an entire company with several studios under its umbrella, was it not irresponsible to acquire them in the first place? But perhaps the most maddening part of this is a quote from Booty, from the town hall, posted by The Verge. When discussing Xbox’s goals moving forward, Booty said the company needed “smaller games that give us prestige and awards.” This came just a day after shutting down Tango Gameworks, which released Hi-Fi Rush to near-universal critical acclaim, nominations, and wins at the biggest award shows in the industry, and according to Microsoft, was a “break out hit” that met its expectations.

The remarks put a bad taste in people’s mouths, especially for ex-Tango Gameworks employees. Hi-Fi Rush creative director John Johanas responded with an image of a very tired Peppermint. If meeting all the expectations of your corporate overlords isn’t enough to keep your job safe, what is? That is the question on many people’s minds, and Xbox’s response has landed like a ton of bricks.

Externally, Xbox’s messaging is also bad

Xbox’s employees may not be satisfied with how leadership communicates internally, but the company’s public response has also been poor. In an interview with Bloomberg, Bond was asked why Hi-Fi Rush’s success didn’t ensure Tango Gameworks’ safety in these layoffs. Her full response was as follows:

You know, one of the things I really love about the games industry is it’s a creative art form. And it means that the situation and what success is for each game and studio is also really unique. There’s no one-size-fits-all to it for us. And so we look at each studio, each game team, and we look at a whole variety of factors when we’re faced with sort of making decisions and trade-offs like that. But it all comes back to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we build, the services and ensuring that we’re setting ourselves up to be able to deliver on those promises.

Bond’s response dances around the question and has been criticized by fans and industry figures alike for coming off as if she wasn’t properly prepared to discuss the shutdowns. Whatever the case, it has contributed to the loss of trust in the Xbox brand that has permeated this past week.

Fans are worried about the future of Xbox

With seemingly no guarantee of stability at Xbox, fans are concerned about upcoming projects from the company, and the fate of studios that remain under its auspices. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is coming out on May 21 from Ninja Theory, and fans joked about how poorly this fact had been publicized until a tweet from artist @FleurashDesign pointed it out. This may have prompted Xbox to put out a post of new key art and a reminder that the release date is mere weeks away. It was met with dozens of responses remarking about how little Xbox had promoted the game leading up to launch. The game had a round of previews go up in April, but it still doesn’t feel like the game is getting the support from Xbox that it needs and deserves if it’s going to have a real shot at whatever version of success the company needs to avoid the fate of its peers.

Senua dashes into a fight.

Image: Ninja Theory

But even if Hellblade II or any of Xbox’s current projects turn a profit, these studio shutdowns have eroded some faith in the Xbox brand. Its years-long focus on buying studios and trying to build a stable that rivals those of Sony and Nintendo has mostly resulted in destruction for studios that were promised space to create freely, learn from failure, and maintain their own identity. Now, these storied teams aren’t getting clear communication about what success at Xbox looks like. Fans have been supporting services like Game Pass because this is what they were told would keep the brand afloat, and now one of its biggest success stories wasn’t enough to keep a studio’s doors open. Uncertainty has surrounded Xbox for years as it seemed to be making plays to stop competing in the console space while promising the brand was still strong. Still, even if its consolidation strategy was objectionable, it was at least comprehensible. Now, even the vision Xbox had feels like a lofty ideal, as success isn’t enough to guarantee you so much as a life preserver before the company lets the studios it bought drown.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Kotaku – https://kotaku.com/xbox-game-studios-arkane-tango-gameworks-hi-fi-rush-1851470253

Tags: BreakingentertainmentFallout
Previous Post

Classic Sci-Fi Shooter Marathon From The Makers Of Halo Now Free

Next Post

Xbox Shutters Studios, Switch 2 Specs May Have Leaked, And More Of The Week’s Gaming News

Lake Tanganyika cichlids partition habitat by time – Nature

How Lake Tanganyika Cichlids Share Their Habitat by Time to Thrive

August 29, 2025
Ancient Life “Wakes Up” After 100 Million Years Under the Seafloor – IFLScience

Ancient Life Resurfaces After 100 Million Years Hidden Beneath the Seafloor

August 29, 2025
Golden Apple: Seward science teacher helps students soar – KOLN | Nebraska Local News, Weather, Sports | Lincoln, NE

Golden Apple Award: Seward Science Teacher Inspires Students to Soar

August 29, 2025
Maverick Lifestyle Inc.’s Beta Climbs After Market Volatility getLinesFromResByArray error: size == 0 – thegnnews.com

Maverick Lifestyle Inc.’s Beta Climbs After Market Volatility getLinesFromResByArray error: size == 0 – thegnnews.com

August 29, 2025
13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

August 29, 2025
With Micah Parsons trade following Luka Dončić blockbuster, Dallas sports fans continue to have miserable year – CBS Sports

Micah Parsons Trade After Luka Dončić Blockbuster Leaves Dallas Sports Fans Reeling

August 29, 2025
Mismatches will not halt Women’s Rugby World Cup momentum, insist organisers – The Guardian

Women’s Rugby World Cup Momentum Unstoppable Despite Challenges, Organisers Insist

August 29, 2025
Europe Is Spending Big on Defense. Will That Help Its Ailing Economy? – The New York Times

Europe Is Spending Big on Defense. Will That Help Its Ailing Economy? – The New York Times

August 29, 2025
‘Netflix House’ entertainment complexes are coming. Here’s when they open – Los Angeles Times

Exciting News: Netflix’s House Entertainment Complexes Are Opening Soon!

August 29, 2025
CDC director’s firing prompts health concerns : The News4 Rundown – NBC4 Washington

Firing of CDC Director Ignites Nationwide Health Alarm

August 29, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (796)
  • Economy (815)
  • Entertainment (21,694)
  • General (16,739)
  • Health (9,856)
  • Lifestyle (829)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (816)
  • Politics (822)
  • Science (16,025)
  • Sports (21,314)
  • Technology (15,796)
  • World (797)

Recent News

Lake Tanganyika cichlids partition habitat by time – Nature

How Lake Tanganyika Cichlids Share Their Habitat by Time to Thrive

August 29, 2025
Ancient Life “Wakes Up” After 100 Million Years Under the Seafloor – IFLScience

Ancient Life Resurfaces After 100 Million Years Hidden Beneath the Seafloor

August 29, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version