If you didn't like Microsoftthe news of the day is not likely to make you appreciate the American firm, quite the contrary… Recently, we learned of the closure of the premises of Bethesda France, which was responsible for marketing in our language, resulting in the dismissal of associated staff. In January, nearly 1,900 employees of the gaming division were laid off across all studios Xbox, supposedly due to a lack of growth. Since the third quarter results of the 2024 fiscal year of Microsoft fell, very positive with 61.9 billion dollars in revenue and 21.9 billion dollars in profits. Branch Xbox saw its revenues increase by 62% thanks to the acquisition ofActivision Blizzard King. Suffice to say that there was no reason to expect the announcement of the closure of four additional studios…
This is notably through an article fromIGN that we heard the sad news. The four entities affected were all under the aegis of Bethesda, which is definitely paying the price for its acquisition over time. First of all, it's the Japanese studio Tango Gameworks which will therefore disappearto whom we owe them The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo And Hi-Fi RUSH. If after discovering it last year on Xbox Series X|S or PC, or even on PS5 since March, you were hoping for a sequel, then it's off to a bad start. The same goes for the license in the Japanese capital, for which we would have liked to see more… For once, Shinji Mikami did well to leave and found a new studio, Kamuy.
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Today it was announced that Tango Gameworks will be closing.
Thanks to everyone who explored the worlds we created. Hi-Fi- RUSH as well as previous Tango titles will remain available and playable wherever they currently are.
The other main victim that you probably know is Arkane Austinthe North American studio behind Redfall, which has just celebrated its first anniversary and will therefore no longer be entitled to any updates, without even all the promised content having been published. The entity is not to be confused with its parent company Arkane Studios in Lyon, who is doing well and is currently working on a game Marvel's Blade.
Today it was announced that Arkane Austin will be closing and development of Redfall will not continue.
To everyone who has supported the work of our Austin studio over the years, thank you. Thank you for spending time in our worlds and making them yours.
Arkane Lyon will continue to focus on immersive experiences where they (meaning the developers, Editor's note) work hard on their upcoming project.
Redfall players who have purchased the Hero Pass as part of the Bite Back Edition, or the Bite Back premium upgrade, will be eligible to receive the latter's prize.
Although there won't be any additional updates, Redfall's servers will continue to stay online so players can have fun.
Co-creative director Dinga Bakaba ofArkane Studios did not hesitate to speak out through a series of tweets, greatly saddened by this brutal announcement. His speech is clearly of public interest in relation to what has been happening for many months now within the industry.
It's absolutely terrible. Permission to be human: to any executive reading this, friendly reminder that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry and your job as a company is to take care of your artists/actors and help them create value for you. Don't engage us in gold fever games, don't use us as straw men for miscalculations/blind spots, don't make our work environments Darwinist jungles. You say we make you proud when we make a good play. Make us proud when times are tough. We know you can, we've seen it before.
For the moment, great teams are disappearing before our eyes again, and it's a fucking stab in the gut. Lyon is safe, but be careful and discerning about it all, respect the voices of those involved and give them space to be heard, it's their story to tell, their feelings to express. For the experts (the term used is inside baseball, Editor's note), if I read “an immersive sim curse” from the community, in particular from a fellow developer, I swear to God… Please, let's talk about *real* challenges instead of dwelling on irrational anxieties from the past.
Even more pointed, but with a very, very broad scope, as a wise man who we sorely miss said:
“Please stop. »
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The other two studios are undoubtedly a little less known, with first of all Alpha Dog Gamescreator of mobile games including the very young Mighty DOOM that he will take to the grave this summer, and Roundhouse Studios whose workforce will be incorporated into Zenimax Online Studios.
Today it was announced that Alpha Dog Games will be shutting down and development of Mighty DOOM has come to an end.
As our servers will be shut down on August 7, we have stopped the ability of players to purchase additional in-game currency.
Thanks to everyone who spent time on Mighty DOOM.
No details regarding the number of people who will lose their jobs have been communicated at this time and you can find below a translation of the email sent by Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studiosto the personnel concerned. You will note the inversion error between “Alpha Dog Studios” and “Roundhouse Games” which is really not professional… It also mentions job cuts within Bethesda more generally.
Today I'm sharing the changes we're making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams. These changes are based on a focus on high-impact titles and an additional investment in Bethesda's portfolio of hit games and beloved universes that you have nurtured for many decades.
To double down on these franchises and invest in creating new ones, we need to look at the entire business to identify the opportunities best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means that some teams will be realigned with others and that some of our colleagues will leave us.
Here are the changes that will come into effect:
- Arkane Austin – This studio will close its doors and some team members will join other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arkane Austin has a history of creating impactful and innovative games and that's a pedigree everyone should be proud of. The previous Redfall update will be the last as we cease all development of the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will offer compensation offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC.
- Alpha Dog Studios – This studio will also close. We appreciate the team's creativity in bringing Doom to new players. Mighty DOOM will end on August 7 and we will disable the ability for players to make in-game purchases.
- Tango Gameworks – Tango Gameworks will also close. We are grateful for their contributions to Bethesda and players around the world. Hi-Fi RUSH will continue to be available to players on current platforms.
- Roundhouse Games – The Roundhouse Games team will join ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS). Roundhouse has played a key role in many of our recent game launches and bringing them into ZOS to work on The Elder Scrolls Online will mean we can do even more to expand the world that millions of players call home.
With this consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest deeper into our portfolio of games and new intellectual properties, a small number of positions on some of Bethesda's publishing and corporate teams will also be eliminated.
Those whose roles are affected will be informed today and we ask that you treat your departing colleagues with respect and compassion. We will provide our full support to those affected by today's notifications and throughout their transitions, including severance packages informed by local laws.
These changes do not reflect the creativity and skills of the talented individuals on these teams or the risks they took to try new things. I recognize that these changes are also disruptive to the various support teams at ZeniMax and Bethesda who market our games. We are making these difficult decisions to create the capacity to increase investments in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority plays.
Bethesda remains one of Xbox's key pillars with a strong portfolio of incredible games and thriving communities. As we look to the future, an impressive lineup of games is on the horizon. In 2024 alone, we have Starfield: Shattered Space, Fallout 76: Skyline Valley, Indiana Jones and the Elder Circle, and Golden Road from The Elder Scrolls Online. As we align our plans and resources to best prepare for success in this complex and evolving industry, our teams at Arkane Lyon, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios and the publishing and Bethesda's corporate partners will be well positioned to create new intellectual properties, explore new game concepts and expand our existing franchises.
– Matt
If Hi-Fi RUSH interests you, it is sold €26.99 at Gamesplanet on PC.
Read also: Xbox Games Showcase: Microsoft's annual conference dated, with a Direct focused on a “beloved franchise”
 Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law)Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin's Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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