Xbox boss Phil Spencer is defending himself after yesterday’s bad news about the closure of several Bethesda studios.
Microsoft announced internally yesterday that it would be closing several studios. Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush) and Alpha Dog Studios (Mighty DOOM) are closing, with Roundhouse Games set to merge with Zenimax.
As head of the gaming division, Phil Spencer received a lot of criticism from the gaming community for the closure. Allegations of mismanagement and corporate greed are believed by some to be responsible for the closure.
But he also received support. Former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra wrote a few words about this on X. He defended him and said that he knew Phil well and therefore knew that he was a good person and was suffering the same way about the matter.
Mike Ybarra wrote: “I’m seeing a lot of attacks on Phil over today’s Xbox announcements. I understand that. But knowing him as a human being, I know that this hurts him as much as it hurts anyone else. I can’t speak for the entire leadership team, but I know him and what he’s probably going through.”
“I’m not trying to defend the decisions. I think we all find ourselves in difficult and unexpected situations (I definitely do too). That’s part of the job, as is responsibility for the results. But he is a good person and he cares deeply about the creative process and the developers. This is my first-hand experience as I have worked closely with him for over 8 years and have known him for over 24 years.”
Ybarra also said that while he hasn’t agreed with all of Spencer’s decisions regarding Xbox in the past, he believes in him and how he manages the products.
“I can 100% understand the anger and confusion and I am very sorry for the teams that have been affected today and over the last few months. I didn’t agree with every decision he made at Xbox, and I think that was pretty clear, but I believe in his product leadership and know how difficult those decisions can be.”
“Xbox could have a very bright future. I hope they can make it happen and all the teams have an incredible experience together. It’s certainly a difficult time to be clear about what the plan is for the future and how gamers everywhere can look forward to it.”
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