Summary
Earlier today, it was announced thatXboxwill be closing multiple studios under its umbrella,including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Despite having made several high-profile titles between them, includingHi-Fi Rush,Ghostwire: Tokyo, The Evil Within series,Prey (2018), andRedfall, Xbox explained that it will be shutting the studios to funnel more cash into “high-impact” titles from Bethesda.
The outcry surrounding the closures has been massive, with fans and developers alike criticizing the top brass at Xbox such as Phil Spencer,dragging up old tweetsand quotes surrounding titles like Hi-Fi Rush that have aged like milk following today’s announcement. Developers at Tango and Arkane have also recently spoken out on Twitter, expressing disappointment, anger, and frustration with Xbox’s decisions.
Arkane studio director Harvey Smithwas one of the first, stating that he and Arkane Austin “went through so much together” and promising developers affected by the closure that he would “do anything I can to help.” Similarly,Arkane production director Ben Horneasked developers to “never give up”, whileHi-Fi Rush director John Johanaswas in a more solemn mood, saying that he doesn’t “quite have the words”, but thanks fans for their support.
Xbox Developers Have Also Been Speaking Out Over The Closures
One of the most high-profile developers to speak out about the closures isDinga Bakaba, the studio head at Arkane Lyon who has worked on several beloved titles such as Deathloop and Dishonored, and is currently working on Marvel’s Blade. Bakaba recently tweeted about the situation, addressing executives directly by claiming they should be “taking care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you.”
Bakaba also calls upon executives to stop using developers as “strawmen,” and to support them during bad times just as well as whenever they release a good game. He also calls the recent closures of Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin a “f***ing gut stab” and calls upon people to “respect affected folks' voices.”
