Microsoft has shut down a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developers Tango Gameworks, reports IGN.
Alpha Dog Studios, the developer of the mobile game Mighty Doom, will also cease operations. Roundhouse Games will be absorbed by ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer of The Elder Scrolls Online. It is not specified how many employees will lose their jobs, but significant layoffs are inevitable.
Microsoft reported that Redfall will remain available for online play, but it will not receive the promised updates — those who purchased Hero DLC will be compensated.
In an email to employees sent by Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft blamed the cuts on «reprioritization of titles and resources».
The announcement of the cuts at Bethesda came 3 months after Microsoft announced plans to cut 1,900 video game employees, and against the backdrop of the boom of the Fallout series from Bethesda after release of the TV adaptation on Prime Video.
Tango Gameworks is closing down a little over a year after the launch of Hi-Fi Rush, which many considered one of the best Xbox games in recent years.
In a series of tweets, Arkane Lyon head Dinga Bakaba criticized the cuts, calling them «terrible».
«For any executive reading this, a friendly reminder that video games — are an entertainment/culture industry, and your job as a corporation — is to take care of your employees and help them create value for you», — Bakaba continued.
Layoffs are spreading across the video game industry, with many well-known studios laying off staff or closing down. A week earlier GTA VI publisher Take-Two has closed two game studios — Roll7 and Intercept Games (part of the Private Division).
According to some estimates, in 2024, the video game industry9400 people were laid offand in 2023 —10,500 employees. Sony, Microsoft, and Riot Games this year alonea total of 3300 employees were laid offand the consequencesfinancial implosion of the Embracer Groupcontinue to spread (numerous closed studios and more than 1,400 laid-off workers).