Strange miracles are happening at Microsoft. Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios, held a meeting to discuss the division’s future goals.
«We need smaller games that give us prestige and rewards,» Buti told employees.
This happened the day after Microsoft closes several studios, including Tango Gameworks – developer of the small, prestigious and popular game Hi-Fi Rush.
Hi-Fi Rush was a pleasant surprise last year and received many positive reviews and praise for its innovation and charm. The rhythmic action game featured music by The Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails, and its art style was reminiscent of hyper-stylized PS2 games. In just 4 months after its release, Hi-Fi Rush gathered 3 million players. The game received Game Award, Game Developers Choice, and BAFTA awards.
Although Microsoft does not share sales data, it was obviously pleased with the game. Aaron Greenberg, vice president of marketing for Xbox games, wrote that Hi-Fi Rush «was a real hit for us and our players across all key metrics and expectations». However, none of this saved Tango Gameworks from closure.
Nowadays, small single-player games like Hi-Fi Rush are experiencing a surge in popularity. So it is not surprising that Microsoft is striving to create «smaller games». It is strange that the company is closing a studio that has already created such a popular project and was preparing to release its sequel, Bloomberg reports.
But that’s not all. Bloomberg also reports that Microsoft is asking a number of current ZeniMax team members, including producers and quality testers, to enter into voluntary separation agreements. This comes after the closure of the three now former Bethesda-ZeniMax game development studios on Tuesday, as well as the merger of another team into ZeniMax Online Studios. It is not specified how many members of the ZeniMax team agreed to these severance agreements. Microsoft has not yet disclosed how many team members lost their jobs on Tuesday.
At the same time, Matt Booty said at the meeting that the ZeniMax division with its previous nine studios was thinly spread like «peanut butter on bread» and Microsoft felt it was time to close some studios so that resources could be better utilized.
Jill Braff, the current head of the ZeniMax division, said at the meeting that it was difficult for «to support 9 studios around the world with a modest central team with an ever-growing set of tasks».
Additionally, Microsoft is also reportedly thinking about other measures to increase game revenues, including raising prices for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service and possibly planning to offer more games, such as Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, for the Sony PlayStation 5 console.