In light of Xbox’s recent controversial decision that has resulted in the closure of many beloved studios that it had acquired over time, many social media users are bringing up the gaming brand’s old posts to highlight its supposed hypocrisy.
One of these posts happens to be a “brutal” graphic of the company’s team, which hasn’t aged so well; instead, it’s got people even more angry at the company’s recent decisions.
Team Xbox and Bethesda Aren’t Winning Any Favors
All chaos broke loose on social media when it was revealed that Xbox would be killing smaller studios in charge of hits like Hi-Fi Rush, The Evil Within, and Prey.
Fans and community members are still confused as to why these studios were forced to close shop, rather than Microsoft disinvesting in these companies or tanking the losses.
Brutal. https://t.co/uQIHT9Y8Iq
— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) May 8, 2024
A user on X/Twitter recently posted a picture of an old Team Microsoft photo, featuring a majority of the studios that have now been closed.
For many, this graphic put into perspective exactly how many resources the brand cut off with this move. The only remaining teams from the picture is ZeniMax media, id Software, and MachineGames.
These companies, including Bethesda, were acquired when Microsoft bought their parent company, ZeniMax.
At the time, it was an exciting prospect for many, thinking about these companies having the financial resources to sustain themselves and prioritize creating amazing gaming experiences.
Was It Fair to Close These Studios?
There’s a lot of mystery around these studio closures. Many of these titles were spectacular in what they did, as niche as they are.
Take Hi-Fi Rush, for example, which won several awards and performed well in terms of key metrics, as revealed by a staff member of Microsoft’s gaming brand.
Tango Gameworks, the studio behind the game, also worked on the Evil Within series; unfortunately, we might never get a third installation.
The evil within was a personal fave. Imma miss that team so much
— Jay 🎏 (@Imjayohkay) May 8, 2024
Redfall‘s studio, Arkane Austin, has a completely different story, however. Jason Schreier released a breakdown detailing the game’s messy development.
Arkane staff weren’t a fan of the idea, there was no clear direction throughout development, and the studio was severely understaffed.
By the end, roughly 70% of the developers that had worked on Prey had left.
???
Arkane didn't want to make Redfall, they were forced into it by their publisher, alot of people quit because of it— Certified Dumbass 🇧🇩 (@moosetgh) May 8, 2024
With ZeniMax having a reputation for paying low salaries making it difficult to hire, and the concept of the game itself being widely unpopular, it never had a fighting chance.
Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax at the time had given Arkane some hope that the game could be canceled or pivot toward a single-player experience. However, Microsoft took a hands-off approach and let ZeniMax continue to do what it was doing. You know how the rest goes.
Do you think it’s fair for Xbox to shut down these studios when taking into account the context of their successes and failures? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
