Having acquired Bethesda as part of the massive ZeniMax Media deal back in 2020, many would have thought that increased resources and support from Microsoft would have allowed studios under the brand to shine even further. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, as Microsoft will be shutting down Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Studios, and Roundhouse Games in devastating cuts.
As reported by IGN, head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, shared the news with staff via email, with several key points to note about the closures.
“Today, I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams. These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades,” Booty wrote.
“To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us.”
The poor reception to Redfall always placed Arkane Austin at risk, with planned DLC and updates no longer coming. Some of the team will move to other studios at Bethesda. Alpha Dog Games, who were responsible for the mobile title Mighty Doom, will no longer exist as the game gets sunsetted on August 7. As for Roundhouse Games, the team will be joining Zenimax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online.
The biggest casualty of the Bethesda cuts by Microsoft is Tango Gameworks, which have put out stellar titles in recent times like Hi-Fi Rush, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and The Evil Within. The former was considered by many to be one of the best Xbox game to come out in a while, and that was a notion echoed by Aaron Greenberg, vice president of Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft back in April 2023. However, even that kind of critical and public acclaim could not save Tango Gameworks from being shuttered.
