Studios spread thin like “peanut butter on bread” says Xbox president Matt Booty
Like us, you’re probably still reeling fromTuesday’s newsthatHi-Fi Rushstudio Tango andPrey’s Arkane Austin are getting shuttered by Microsoft.According to Bloomberg, these closures were just a part of a “widespread cost-cutting initiative” that’s still underway. All signs point towards more cuts to come, basically. ZeniMax studios seem to be the main target.
According to sources “familiar with the company’s plans,” this week saw Xbox offering voluntary severance to “producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax.” During a meeting with ZeniMax staff yesterday, Xbox president Matt Booty suggested that “the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed.” It’s this want to free up resources that Booty claimed led to the recent closures of Tango, Arkane Austin, Mighty Dog, and Roundhouse.
“It’s hard to support nine studios all across the world with a lean central team with an ever-growing plate of things to do,” said head of ZeniMax Jill Braff at the meeting. “I think we were about to topple over.” The recent closures came as Arkane Austin was deep in development of more content for vampire live serviceRedfall, as well as looking toward making a new immersive sim, potentially a newDishonored. Xbox had previously called Tango’s critical darling Hi-Fi Rush “one of the most successful launches for Bethesda and Xbox in recent years.”
The cost cutting measures across Xbox, as Bloomberg point out, could be down to a lack of the Game Pass growth Xbox were counting on. Quoting analyst Mat Piscatella, they write:
The Game Pass model theoretically allows for smaller, more creatively risky games. Sales expectations don’t have to be the be all end all, as long as a release provides value to the library. With Game Pass growth stalled, it seems Xbox are becoming less willing to take risks on similar releases.
Today,someone nuked Phil Spencer’s Fallout 76 camp. At the time of writing, it isn’t clear if he’s managed to rebuild it yet.
