Xbox head Phil Spencer commented on the closure of studios such as Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks: “Sometimes I have to make hard decisions.”
Last month, Microsoft announced the closure of developers Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, both beloved studios. This was surprising and upsetting news to many, with Tango’s closure being particularly surprising given Hi-Fi Rush’s recent critical acclaim, with Microsoft even stating that it was pleased with the game’s performance. The closure of Arkane Austin was equally upsetting, but perhaps not as surprising given the poor performance of Redfall, a live service game made by a studio better known for its single-player titles. At IGN Live, Spencer was asked to comment on the closures and the reasoning behind the decision.
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“Any dissolution of a team is obviously going to hit the individuals and the team hard,” Spencer said. “I haven’t talked about it publicly because now is the time for us to focus on the teams and the individuals. This is obviously a very difficult decision for them, and I want to make sure we do the right thing for the individuals on the team through severance and other means. This is not about my PR, it’s not about Xbox PR. This is about those teams.”
“In the end, I’ve said repeatedly that I have to run a sustainable business within the company, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions, and frankly, they’re not decisions that I enjoy, but decisions that someone needs to make. We’re going to keep moving forward. We’re going to keep investing in the Xbox business and building the best business that we can, and that ensures that we can continue to make shows like the one we just did.”
This doesn’t seem like a particularly satisfying answer, especially considering reports that Arkane Austin was pressured in some way by ZeniMax (owner of Bethesda, which owns Arkane) to make a live service game. If Arkane Austin had been able to make a single-player game (the mode the studio is best known for), who knows where it would have ended up. Let’s hope Microsoft doesn’t have any further intentions to add to the number of layoffs that have been growing over the past year.
