XBOX SAYS IT NEEDS GAMES LIKE HI-FI RUSH A DAY AFTER SHUTTING DOWN ITS DEVELOPER
A Microsoft exec has apparently said, ‘We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards’ despite closing down a studio that did exactly that.
If you’ve been reading about the events at Xbox this week with an increasing sense of incredulity then you haven’t heard anything yet, if reports about what Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, has said to employees behind closed doors.
Supposedly, he was talking during a ‘town hall’ meeting when he stated that Xbox should make smaller games ‘that give us prestige and awards.’ Even though that’s exactly what Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks did before Microsoft recently announced it was to close.
Arakne Austin and mobile developer Alpha Dog Games weren’t exactly making $300 million blockbusters either and they were also shut down on Wednesday, while Roundhouse Studios, who are also not a triple-A studio, were folded into The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios.
The report comes from The Verge and assuming it’s accurate it’s hard to credit Wednesday’s actions as part of credible or consistent company plan.
Hundreds of people are thought to have lost their jobs as a result of the closures and while Arkane Austin’s Redfall was a critical and commerical failure, Hi-Fi Rush was hailed as one of the best games of 2023 and appeared on many best of the year lists (including our own) and won a Game Award, a BAFTA, and a Game Developers Choice award.
It was clearly low budget too and while Microsoft never reveals sales figures, Tange Gameworks were last year celebrating 3 million players – although a large proportion of those would’ve been via Game Pass.
It’s also reported that Tango Gameworks, who were previously best known for survival horror series The Evil Within, were pitching ideas for Hi-Fi Rush 2 when they were closed. Indeed, it’s suggested that their request to hire more staff for the sequel is what led to Microsoft closing them down.
Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they're seen on the site.
Stay up to date with the latest gaming news, exclusives and insight from our experienced editors. Sign up to Metro.co.uk's GameCentral newsletter
2024-05-09T09:34:32Z dg43tfdfdgfd
