Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, HiFi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda
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midnightAI
Member
To be fair, these companies weren't under the XBox brand, they are part of Microsoft Gaming
ChuckeRearmed
Member
Tango is very surprising.
Unknown?
Member
Be sure to switch to Linux.
TheTony316
Member
Tango WTF?
I was told Microsoft buying the industry would be beneficial to gamers.
I was told Microsoft buying the industry would be beneficial to gamers.
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
To be fair, MS has spent quite a bit of effort brainwashing these fans. They gave them attention on twitter. They invited them to events. They constantly lied to them and while the rest of us knew Phil was just doing lip service, the fans had no choice but to take him for his word.
Phil is the kind of real life politician who leads his flock astray. It's easy to label them sheeps but if its between Phil the CEO or a guy name Slimysnake with a stupid avatar on neogaf, who would you believe?
Now though. After MS has effectively gone third party due to Phil's idiotic decisions and shut down many studios. Now, those fans have no excuse. Now the facts are staring them in the face. If those fans continue to live under a rock then yes, they cant be helped.
crackajack
Member
Great plan, acquire some studios to be able to compete, then close down a bunch to look again worse on those list wars. MS and their 360s... but hardly a surprise that such major acquisitins especially in these downward times end up in something like this.
Arkane did never really hit the ground running. Their sales were always okayish, right, but Redfall certainly did not help. I wonder what they were even doing the last months. Their Redfall support is seemingly non existent and if their next work in process is no obvious actual hit material, shutting them down almost immediately would have made more sense? Tango might have done okay too and had no Redfall, but their head was leaving, already left. A guy like Kojima gets too much credit but on the other hand competent game directors certainly are a rare find, so that studio was a walking corpse and they did not trust to move all responsibilities to the sort of B-team there.
Like always I just hope some of those guys form their own indie studios. Go away from big/huge MP GaaS everyone is chasing and do something nice and actually unique. Usually these team comprised of veteran from x y z means almost nothing, but with the number of available people some interesting "Respawns" almost unavoidably must happen. I just hope so.
Arkane did never really hit the ground running. Their sales were always okayish, right, but Redfall certainly did not help. I wonder what they were even doing the last months. Their Redfall support is seemingly non existent and if their next work in process is no obvious actual hit material, shutting them down almost immediately would have made more sense? Tango might have done okay too and had no Redfall, but their head was leaving, already left. A guy like Kojima gets too much credit but on the other hand competent game directors certainly are a rare find, so that studio was a walking corpse and they did not trust to move all responsibilities to the sort of B-team there.
Like always I just hope some of those guys form their own indie studios. Go away from big/huge MP GaaS everyone is chasing and do something nice and actually unique. Usually these team comprised of veteran from x y z means almost nothing, but with the number of available people some interesting "Respawns" almost unavoidably must happen. I just hope so.
Sorcerer
Member
There not coming, but it says in the post Microsoft if going to make it up to those who were waiting for it.
The closure of Tango is incomprehensible..... There are people with a lot of quality and creativity there who required better treatment and trust.
It is a shame that this industry is based solely and exclusively on commercial success and not on product quality. Then, Arkane Austin was predictable after Redfall and seeing the trend in the industry to focus investments on less risky and higher potential projects. The rest is more consolidation in an older brother Studio.
Anyway, MS is certainly making very shocking decisions, we'll see if they are right or not. At the image level it is clear that they are not the best.
It is a shame that this industry is based solely and exclusively on commercial success and not on product quality. Then, Arkane Austin was predictable after Redfall and seeing the trend in the industry to focus investments on less risky and higher potential projects. The rest is more consolidation in an older brother Studio.
Anyway, MS is certainly making very shocking decisions, we'll see if they are right or not. At the image level it is clear that they are not the best.
UltimaKilo
Gold Member
You have some deep issues. Holy hell.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
It was a mid studio with great ideas, they just needed a little bit more financial support to reach their full potential from the I dunno... a triple trillion dollar company
T4keD0wN
Member
Me too, but maybe we will get another Dishonored at some point since they werent the only Arkane studio.
Zheph
Member
Living his best life under the blue sky
Killjoy-NL
Gold Member
Most PS gamers don't give a fuck about Xbox games, so chances are high that this was the case.
Sea of Thieves will also likely sell somewhat decently at first and then it'll lose momentum rather quickly for the same reason.
LordBritish
Member
Incoming Fallout 5... Microsoft sees the opportunity... hire these folks to start work on it.
HeisenbergFX4
Member
After Redfall I wouldn't trust Arkane to do anything well moving forward
Tango is the shocker here to me
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Yeah, imho very good until Colantonio left. The moment that happened I noticed a severe drop in the quality of their games with stuff like Deathloop or Redfall.
I'd suggest keeping an eye on Wolfeye Studios since I think he's working there or at least collaborating with them. Their first game Weird West seems to be a pretty cool immersive sim.
GymWolf
Gold Member
The reality of the cuts hit like a spearI was told that the gaming division has surpassed their Windows division, they make record revenues (profits is suspiciously hidden) and that Xbox is healthier than ever.
So...what's going on ?
Represent.
Represent(ative) of bad opinions
A month ago I'd have been furious. But now? What do we expect?
No one is buying games. The industry is in the shittiest spot it's ever been. People only buy the same rehashed franchises.
They will close more down soon
No one is buying games. The industry is in the shittiest spot it's ever been. People only buy the same rehashed franchises.
They will close more down soon
HeWhoWalks
Gold Member
Microsoft having issues with their studios =! the whole industry should burn for a fix.
"No one is buying games".
Sony & Nintendo: "hold our Yen".
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Shadax the wizard
Member
What the fuck
Ass of Can Whooping
Member
They aren't even bad. They're victims of trend chasing pushed onto them by upper managment just like Bethesda was with 76 and Sledgehammer with Youngblood.
Zheph
Member
Just to reflect a bit, Colantonio was in Arkane Lyon.
AJUMP23
Parody of actual AJUMP23
I wonder if this takes these developers and consolidates them on other projects, so there isn't a talent drain but a talent consolidation. Except for the people at Arkane......
MS needs some bigger tent poles, and maybe this will help them. But the news is brutal.
MS needs some bigger tent poles, and maybe this will help them. But the news is brutal.
Mr Moose
Member
Nintendo was the Japanese studio he wanted.
Dude gets paid 10 million a year and he sucks at his job. Lucky fuck.
Booty is head of Xbox Game Studios.
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SEGAvangelist
Member
Arkane Austin makes sense. I don't think anyone is confused about that one. Tango sucks as their recent game was one of the best singleplayer games MS released in some time. I assume there is more to this closure than Hi-Fi Rush just underselling, though. Shinji Mikami's departure probably brought other departures along with it. Ikumi Nakamura likely took some people with her to her new studio as well. I wonder if Tango was already gutted before this closure.
Little Chicken
Member
I am genuinely moved by the passionate concern some of you are displaying for Xbox Game Studios. Truly moving. But we an hardly call this a surprise:
Arkane Austin - Mismanaged to hell and back, RedFall took 5+ years to make and ended up the way it did. Hardly a surprise.
Tango Softworks - The writing was on the wall after Shinji Mikami left, years after he actually wanted to leave, but stayed on for another five years. Their IP and probably some devs will remain with Bethesda.
Alpha Dog Studios - Yes, you'd never heard of them before either.
I hope the people who have been let go find new work soon, as I hope all of the concerned posters here find solace in typing "fuck Microsoft"
Arkane Austin - Mismanaged to hell and back, RedFall took 5+ years to make and ended up the way it did. Hardly a surprise.
Tango Softworks - The writing was on the wall after Shinji Mikami left, years after he actually wanted to leave, but stayed on for another five years. Their IP and probably some devs will remain with Bethesda.
Alpha Dog Studios - Yes, you'd never heard of them before either.
I hope the people who have been let go find new work soon, as I hope all of the concerned posters here find solace in typing "fuck Microsoft"
Zheph
Member
The Arkane that got shutdown did Prey and Redfall
Arkane Lyon did Dishonored and Deadloop.
Buggy Loop
Gold Member
HI-FI RUSH DEVELOPER?????
Pancakes and Sausage
Member
I read this as Microsoft setting up Fallout and Elder Scrolls factories.
I think Xbox fans are going to be increasingly disappointed as time goes by.
I think Xbox fans are going to be increasingly disappointed as time goes by.
Redneckerz
Those long posts don't cover that red neck boy
Sad that one bad game closes a studio (Arkane Austin)
Sad that no bad games closes a studio also (Tango)
Gamers:
Microsoft:
Sad that no bad games closes a studio also (Tango)
Gamers:
Microsoft:
Cert.in.Death
Member
Tango has been a wounded animal for awhile and when Mikami departed, it seemed a signal of the impending fate for the studio.
Unfortunate. I haven't started Hi-Fi Rush yet but I quite liked Ghostwire Tokyo.
Unfortunate. I haven't started Hi-Fi Rush yet but I quite liked Ghostwire Tokyo.
Topher
Identifies as young
I am genuinely moved by the passionate concern some of you are displaying for Xbox Game Studios. Truly moving. But we an hardly call this a surprise:
Arkane Austin - Mismanaged to hell and back, RedFall took 5+ years to make and ended up the way it did. Hardly a surprise.
Tango Softworks - The writing was on the wall after Shinji Mikami left, years after he actually wanted to leave, but stayed on for another five years. Their IP and probably some devs will remain with Bethesda.
Alpha Dog Studios - Yes, you'd never heard of them before either.
I hope the people who have been let go find new work soon, as I hope all of the concerned posters here find solace in typing "fuck Microsoft"
Perrott
Member
Imagine killing Tango, the only studio that developed you a genuinely great and relatively major title that didn't launch in a shit state in what feels like a decade.
Fucking morons, this is why Xbox has always sucked culturally, why they're in last place today and why they'll continue to fade into absolute irrelevance in the coming years.
Fucking morons, this is why Xbox has always sucked culturally, why they're in last place today and why they'll continue to fade into absolute irrelevance in the coming years.
mansoor1980
Member
sncvsrtoip
Member
Werent they victims of managment that force them to do live service when they had experience in singleplayer ? Briliant strategy that also sony loved.
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MatrixReloaded101
Member
Tango Gameworks give MS a great new IP, something they haven't had in years.
MS: " Thanks, now please see your way out"
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