Microsoft will close the development studios Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Studios. This also puts an end to the development of Redfall. Players who purchased unreleased Redfall DLC will be compensated.
The closed studios were all part of Bethesda or ZeniMax. In an email to employees, which was seen by IGN, among others, Microsoft said it wanted to ‘further invest in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds’ with the closures. With the closures, Microsoft also wants to give ‘high-impact’ games more priority.
After closing Arkane Austin, ‘some’ employees are moving to other Bethesda studios. Microsoft does not mention numbers. In the email, the company confirms that Redfall has had its last update and that development is being discontinued. “The game and its servers will remain online for players” and the company says it will make “a good offer” to buyers of the unreleased Hero DLC, which will no longer be released.
Tango Gameworks, maker of Hi-Fi Rush, is also closing. The email thanks the studio and says Microsoft will continue to sell the game. Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Studios is also closing. The smartphone Doom game will be disabled on August 7 and players will no longer be able to purchase anything within the game. The fourth studio, Roundhouse Games, will also be closed, but these employees can work at Elder Scrolls Online maker ZeniMax Online Studios.
It is not clear how many employees will be laid off as a result of the closures. Microsoft emphasizes that Bethesda remains important to the company and that developers can continue to experiment with new game concepts and ideas. The director of Arkane Lyon, which is therefore not closed, https://twitter.com/DBakaba/status/1787839169588265251.
Tags: Microsoft closes studios Redfall HiFi Rush Evil Gaming News
