In the wake of last week’s big news that Microsoft would be closing several of its studios, and all the interesting things its executives have said since then, people are resurrecting old documentary footage that they believe illustrates how Xbox is handling Some issues with the studio it bought.
To recap, Microsoft has been in the headlines recently for its shocking decision to shutter a number of Xbox Studios, including Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks and Redfall developer Arkane Austin. Especially considering how good the first of these was, this move unsurprisingly pissed off a lot of people.
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Enter footage from Double Fine PsychOdyssey, a documentary series that follows Double Fine’s efforts to make Psychonauts 2, including some interesting bits about the fallout from Microsoft’s 2019 acquisition of the studio. The main part that’s catching people’s attention is that Xbox’s Matt Booty has been receiving a lot of criticism for some of the things he said about the latest batch of cuts.
In the video, Booty attempts to reassure the Double Fine team through the kind of awkward meeting you’re probably familiar with that things won’t change much post-acquisition, but his remarks aren’t framed in a particularly reassuring way. The one that got the most attention was Booty saying “if you really want to run a startup, quit and run a startup” during an exchange about Double Fine developers being able to develop what could become their idea. Having independent side projects without the studio being able to step in and take ownership of them when they decide.
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The executive did quickly walk back the statement, emphasizing: “I’m not trying to drive anyone away, it’s not meant to be harsh language,” but it’s definitely not the ideal way to spell out something like this to Xbox developers. banner. It’s worth noting that this kind of creative control over employees is common at large companies like Microsoft, and you’ll find similar restrictions across industries.
While this sucks from a creative perspective, the reasoning behind Microsoft’s stance on the issue is understandable from a business perspective. If your studio’s developers are working on the next big thing, you don’t want to risk missing out on the next big thing, but the way Booty outlined it stands out as a prime example of how Xbox offers little by way of messaging around these decisions. Comfort, like last week’s meltdown.
A response to an event that may have upset or angered some people doesn’t really help address or alleviate people’s concerns – see Booty’s comments in this clip and Sarah Bond was recently asked about her response to studio closures. Or – as you can see later in the clip with some discussion about MS and Double Fine, there still has to be discussion about the former’s right to be able to go back and call upon developers’ ideas – the way things are explained might make it look like those things are still Without adequate consideration, this will almost certainly make the company look worse.
It feels weird that people have to lecture companies like Xbox because they’re not doing a good enough job with PR when we may not agree with their decisions, but yeah, we’re here. What do you think of this video and how Xbox handled the aftermath last week? Let us know below.
