Four Bethesda Studios Shut Down by Xbox

2024 has been one hell of a bloodbath for the video game industry. PlayStation, SEGA, Riot, and many other studios besides have been laying off workers all year long. Now, four studios under the Bethesda banner over at Xbox have been shuttered: Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse are all gone, effective immediately.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty sent out a letter to staffers indicating that the company wants to refocus on the rest of Bethesda’s portfolio of games, which includes popular franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and others. Tango Gameworks is arguably the most heartbreaking of the bunch to see go. Responsible for games like Hi-Fi Rush (which some now wonder if it might not make the jump to Switch after all, despite just getting a PEGI rating), Tango seemed to only be doing everything right, even if its games weren’t enormous blockbuster hits.

Adding to fan frustration, Booty apparently spoke during a townhall meeting following the closures and declared, “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards.” That’s an interesting thing to say given Tango Gameworks had done exactly that with Hi-Fi Rush. If that’s what Xbox wants, then why close a studio that seemed to deliver? A head-scratcher, to say the least. We’ll continue to report on the tumultuousness of 2024, but in the interim let us know what you think of this latest batch of bad news down in the comments.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz