Xbox is closing Arcane Austin, Tango Gameworks and more under Bethesda IGN. Alpha Dog Studios, the company behind last year’s mobile Mighty Doom, is also shutting down, the report said. The Roundhouse games will also be affected, but will be absorbed by The Elder Scrolls Online team Zenimax Online Studios.
Tango has already confirmed the news online, thanks to his fans:
The closures come after Tango delivered the extremely well-received Hi-Fi Rush last year, months before the release of Arcane Austin Redfall, which unfortunately didn’t pan out as expected, leaving critics and fans disappointed in the first-person vampire shooter. The studio behind the Dishonored series.
IGN Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty learned of the closure in emails sent to staff, where executives cited reprioritization as the reason for the closure. Here is the full email:
“Today, I’m sharing the changes we’re making to our Bethesda and Zenimax teams. These changes. These changes are based on prioritizing high-impact titles and investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and the worlds you’ve cherished for decades. .
To double these franchises and invest in building new ones we need to look across the business to identify the best opportunities for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means that some teams will be reassigned to others and some of our colleagues will leave us.
Here are the changes that will be implemented:
Arcane Austin – This studio will be closing with some team members joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arcane Austin has a history of making influential and innovative games, and that’s a pedigree everyone should be proud of. Redfall’s previous update will be the last as we end all development of the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide great offers for players who have purchased Hero DLC.
Alpha Dog Studios – This studio will also be closed. We appreciate the team’s creativity in bringing Doom to new players. Mighty Doom will sunset on August 7th and we will turn off players’ ability to make any in-game purchases.
Tango Gameworks – Tango Gameworks will also be closing. We are grateful to Bethesda and players around the world for their contributions. Hi-Fi Rush will continue to be available to players on today’s platforms.
Roundhouse Games – The team at Roundhouse Games will be joining ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS). Roundhouse has played a key role in several of our recent game launches, and bringing them to ZOS to work on The Elder Scrolls Online means we can do even more to grow the world that millions of players call home.
With this consolidation of our Bethesda Studio teams, we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP, while also eliminating a small number of roles across select Bethesda Publishing and corporate teams.
Those whose roles will be affected will be notified today and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with respect and compassion. We will provide our full support to those affected through their transitions including severance benefits as stipulated in today’s notifications and local laws.
These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals in these teams or the risks they took to try new things. I acknowledge that these changes will be disruptive to Zenimax and the various support teams across Bethesda that bring our games to market. We are making these tough decisions to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and create the ability to focus on our priority games.
Bethesda is one of the main pillars of Xbox with a strong portfolio of amazing games and a thriving community. As we look to the future, there is an impressive line-up of games on the horizon. In 2024 alone we have Starfield Shattered Space, Fallout 76 Skyline Valley, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and The Elder Scrolls Online’s Golden Road. As we pool our plans and resources to better position ourselves for success in this complex and changing industry, our teams across Arcane Leon, Bethesda Game Studios, ID Software, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios, and Bethesda Publishing and Corporate teams will be well-positioned to build new IP, explore new game concepts and Our existing franchisees are positioned to expand.”
Game Informer Xbox and Bethesda have been reached out for comment and will update this story if it learns more.
Arcane Austin is half of Bethesda-owned Arcane Studios, the other half being Arcane Lion. Both studios often work together on Arcane games, with Arcane Austin leading the charge on titles like Redfall and 2017’s Prey, while Arcane Leon is behind 2021’s Deathloop and the in-development Marvel’s Blade Game.
Tango released Hi-Fi Rush as a surprise “out today” game at the Xbox Developer Direct in January of last year, and the game recently came to PlayStation 5. Before the Hi-Fi Rush, Tango released Ghostwire: Tokyo and Beyond. Two games, which are probably best known for The Evil Within series.
These studio closings join a string of other disappointing 2024 closings and layoffs, which now total more than 10,000 in the first five months of this year.
Last week, Take-Two Interactive shuttered Rollerdrome Studio Roll 7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 Studio Intercept games, along with major layoffs for its indie-publisher Private Sector label. That same week, we learned that Deliver to Mars developer Keoken Interactive had laid off its entire staff.
Elsewhere in the year, EA laid off approximately 670 employees across all divisions, resulting in the cancellation of Respawn’s Star Wars FPS game. PlayStation laid off 900 employees across Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla and more, closing a London studio in the process. Earlier in the day, Dawn developer Supermassive Games announced the layoff of 90 employees.
In late January, we learned that Embracer Group had canceled a new Deus Ex game in development at Eidos-Montreal, laying off 97 employees in the process. In January, Destroy All Humans remake developer Black Forest Games reportedly laid off 50 employees, and Microsoft announced layoffs of 1,900 across its Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax teams. Outriders studio People Can Fly laid off more than 30 employees in January, and League of Legends company Riot Games laid off 530 employees.
Lords of the Fallen publisher CI Games has laid off 10 percent of its staff, Unity will lay off 1,800 people by the end of March, and Twitch has laid off 500 employees.
We’ve learned that Discord has laid off 170 employees, layoffs have occurred at PTW, a support studio that works with companies like Blizzard and Capcom, and Steamworld build company, Thunderful Group, has let go roughly 100 people. Dead by Daylight developer Behavior Interactive also reportedly laid off 45 people.
(Source: IGN)
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