Microsoft is closing four Bethesda studios: Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Mighty downfall Developer Alpha Dog Studios, HiFi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks and support studio Roundhouse Games. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty announced the news in an email to employees on Tuesday, citing a reprioritization of “high-impact titles.” according to IGN. Arkane, Alpha Dog and Tango Gameworks confirmed the closure of their respective X accounts.
“Today it was announced that Arkane Austin is closing and development will not continue RedfallArkane said in his X post. Arkane Lyon is continuing the development of its own projects, it said. Redfall Players who have and have purchased upgrades I’m still waiting for the DLC will not receive it, Arkane said, directing those affected to a Bethesda website where players can do so finally apply for a loan. Microsoft has not yet released details on how to receive this credit. Booty’s letter to employees stated that “some” Arkane employees will be joining other Bethesda projects.
Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.
Mighty downfall, a top-down shooter based on the Doom franchise, will go offline on August 7th following the studio’s closure. Players can no longer make purchases in this game. according to the studio’s X post. People who spent real money on in-game currency can also request a refund. Tango Gameworks will also be shutting down, while Roundhouse Games will merge with ZeniMax Online Studios to work on it The Elder Scrolls Online.
Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Studios and Tango Gameworks each released a game in 2023: Redfall, Mighty downfallAnd HiFi Rushrespectively. HiFi Rush was the most successful of all, following its surprise release earlier this year. The action rhythm game was a far cry from Tango Gameworks’ The evil in And The evil in us 2, which the studio was previously known for. The studio also released Ghostwire: Tokyo And Hero dice in 2022.
In the meantime, Redfall by Arkane Austin didn’t live up to expectations – even Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer called the release “disappointing” but said the team remained committed to fixing its problems. Both Arkane and Tango Gameworks have been part of ZeniMax for more than a decade.
This is absolutely terrible. Permission to be human: I would like to kindly remind any executives reading this that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry and your job as a company is to take care of your artists/entertainers and help them thrive. To create added value for you.
– Dinga Bakaba (@DBakaba) May 7, 2024
Reacting to the closures, Arkane Lyon co-creative director Dinga Bakaba called the cuts “absolutely terrible.” in a thread about X. “Permission to be human: I would like to kindly remind any manager reading this that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry and that your job as a company is to care for and help your artists/entertainers “To create value for you,” he wrote. “Don’t plunge us into gold fever gambling, don’t use us as front men for misjudgments/blind spots, don’t make our work environment a Darwinian jungle. They say we’ll make you proud when we play a good game. Make us proud when times are difficult. We know you can do it, we’ve seen it before.”
Alpha Dog is perhaps the lesser known of the three disbanded studios; it had previously worked on mobile games. The studio was acquired by ZeniMax Media in 2019 and handed over to Microsoft in 2021 as part of the $7.5 billion ZeniMax acquisition. Roundhouse, which will merge with ZeniMax Online, was previously known as Human Head Studios but closed after release Rune 2 in 2019; Shortly thereafter, it was reborn under Bethesda as Roundhouse Studios.
It is unclear exactly how many people will be affected by the studio closures. The news comes just months after Microsoft announced it would lay off 1,900 employees, or 8% of its workforce, following its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Last year, more than 10,000 people were laid off across the video game industry; This number has almost been reached just five months after the start of 2024. While 2023 may have been marked by layoffs, 2024 appears to be marked by studio closures. Just a week into May, at least six studios have already closed, and these four Bethesda studios join Take-Two Software’s Roll7 and Intercept Games.
