It undoubtedly did not come as a surprise to anyone who knows even a little about how the world works, but it was still a bit of a shock. Microsoft’s top executives finally showed their true colors earlier this week. With the closure of Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, the most highly valued company in the world (at least in terms of stock market value) said loud and clear: we don’t give a fuck about games and the people who make them.
We already knew that somewhere. The last major round of layoffs at Microsoft’s gaming division was less than six months ago. Then there had to be 1900 people to leave. It is not yet entirely clear how many there are, but there are closing several studios The lives of hundreds of people will be turned upside down anyway. It’s not like the jobs are up for grabs right now.
“We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community.”
Of course, you could see this as a purely business decision. Things are not necessarily going well for the Xbox brand. Console sales are reportedly declining further in the doldrums – and they were already well behind those of their major competitors. The number of Gamepass subscribers is also stagnated. It makes sense that Microsoft would have to fire people. The money does not grow on Microsoft’s back. A little more understanding is in order, right?
Schering and dismissal
If you ask me, giant companies like this never deserve sympathy. In their endless desire for even more unsustainable growth, they are slowly but surely destroying all life on Earth. Apart from that ‘cynical’ view of the business world, it feels especially bad that Tango Gameworks is the next victim of Microsoft’s greed. Thanks to the success of Hi-Fi Rush, the Japanese studio had become the poster child for the Xbox brand.
“Like us, Bethesda are passionate believers in building a diverse array of creative experiences, in exploring new game franchises, and in telling stories in bold ways.”
In recent years, Xbox has carefully built up an image of the friendly tech giant in its external communications. With terms like the ‘Xbox family’, ‘our Friends at Bethesda’ and all kinds of nice words on Twitter, for example, we had to get the idea that Xbox was really there for us gamers.
“We love gaming,” said Phil Spencer when the Call of Duty bullet was passed. “Players have always been at the center of everything we do. And as we grow, we’ll continue to keep players at the heart of it all.” Do you hear that? Microsoft loves us, with the promise of blockbuster games of all flavors and an endless supply of new titles on Gamepass to maintain the parasocial relationship.
Hi-Fi Gold Rush
How can it be that Tango Gameworks is now closed. With Chai from Hi-Fi Rush, Xbox had finally found its new mascot after the demise of the Halo series and its ‘faceless’ Master Chief. A fresh and colorful game, loved by almost everyone and also made by a studio from Japan, a country where Xbox was unable to gain a foothold. Chai had this in the most recent Super Smash Bros. It would be appropriate if Nintendo would release DLC for that.
“We’ll continue to listen to your feedback, build a community where you can be yourself, where developers can do their best work, and continue to make really fun games.”
Hi-Fi Rush was symbolic of the new path Microsoft had supposedly taken with the Xbox brand. The success of Gamepass would also make smaller, experimental games like this possible. And all those acquired developers could continue to do their own thing, but with the financial support of Microsoft to make their wildest dreams come true.
I really fear for Hellblade developer Ninja Theory. The highly anticipated Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will be released later this month. In all likelihood, that game will be highly regarded and receive equally high marks, but does that even matter? How many copies do they have to sell to get off on the Microsoft Excel sheets? And is that even enough for a company for which nothing is ever enough?
Phil’s fallout
Will Hellblade 2 win all kinds of awards for voice work and motion capture next year while the people responsible for this are out on the streets? Or will Ninja Theory become a support studio from now on to develop new Fallout and Elder Scrolls games? Anyway, Phil Spencer has it there undoubtedly very difficult if we can believe his ex-subject and former Blizzard CEO Blizzard Mike Ybarra. “I see a lot of shots at Phil about today’s Xbox announcements. I get it. But knowing him as a human, I know this hurts him as much as anyone else.”
“All of their great work will of course continue and grow and we look forward to empowering them with the resources and support of Microsoft to scale their creative visions to more players in new ways for you.”
‘As a human’. It’s good that he mentions it, because I do doubt Phil’s humanity. And I also wonder if Ybarra sees the affected developers as people. Otherwise you would never dare say that this affects Spencer as much as it affects them. As far as I know, he has not lost his job yet, he earns many times more anyway and he will undoubtedly receive a golden parachute if he is forced to leave. But not before he disrespectfully pushed thousands of Xbox family members into the abyss. ‘Jump in.’
I know you’re in business never have to see people like that, but as the face of Xbox I still found Phil sympathetic. That’s over from now on. I never want to see him in a hoodie, a game shirt, a spencer again. From now on, just wear a suit like the wolf you are. And if not, bring back that financial segment from previous E3 presentations. At least then we know who you are standing on stage for. Because even when everybody plays, developers still lose. Only the ties win.
