A few days ago, Microsoft announced the closure of several studios, including Tango Gameworks (creators of Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within). Since then, social media and players have shown their discontent and anger towards a company that claimed to come to save the video game industry.
Later, Jason Schreier from Bloomberg reported that more layoffs are coming. This means that Xbox has the scythe ready to end all studios under its umbrella that do not make impressive numbers. In other words, those studios that do not develop Triple A games.
The Xbox leadership has not openly discussed the decisions to close these high-profile studios like Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, but one can imagine the questions that the community has about these, for many, incomprehensible decisions.
Responding to a direct question with a detour is what the president of Xbox offered
In a new interview with Dina Bass from Bloomberg, Sarah Bond, President of Xbox, was asked about the closure of Tango Gameworks, especially now that the studio has created a critically and commercially successful game called HiFi Rush.
Unfortunately, Bond’s response to the question was basically a non-answer, without providing any justification for the closure of the talented studio.
“One of the things I like most about the video game industry is that it is a form of creative art, which means that the situation and success of each game and studio are truly unique,” said Sarah Bond.
The executive continued by saying that Xbox takes into account the bigger picture when making decisions like this, no matter how painful it may be: “For us, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. So we look at each studio, each game team, and take into account a whole range of factors when making decisions and concessions of this kind. But it all comes down to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we manufacture, the platforms, and ensuring that we are ready to fulfill those promises.”
This means what we all know: no one is safe and studio closures will continue to happen. The question is: then why buy so many equipment and spend so much money?
