Xbox President Sarah Bond has commented on the recent closure of Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks.
Some days ago, Microsoft announced the closure of several studios, including Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within studio Tango Gameworks. Afterward, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported that more layoffs are inbound. Xbox leadership hasn't openly talked about the decisions to close these high-profile studios such as Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, but one can imagine the questions the community has regarding these, for many, incomprehensible decisions. In a new interview with Bloomberg's Dina Bass, Sarah Bond was asked about shutting down Tango Gameworks, especially now that the studio created a smaller hit game - HiFi Rush. Unfortunately, Bond's answer to the question was basically a non-answer, not providing any justification for shutting down the talented studio (via The Verge's Tom Warren):
"You know, one of the things I really love about the gaming industry is that it's a creative art form, and it means that the situation and what successes for each game and studio is also really unique", Bond said. The executive then continued by saying that Xbox is looking at the bigger picture when making decisions like this. "There's no one size fits all to it for us [Xbox Game Studios e.g. Microsoft]. And so we look at each studio, each game team, and we look at a whole variety of factors when we're faced with making decisions and trade-offs like that. But it all comes back to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we build, the surfaces, and ensuring that we're setting ourselves up to deliver on those promises."
We've included the part from the interview in which Bass and Bond talk about the closure of Tango Gameworks below.
Xbox president Sarah Bond responds to a question from Bloomberg's @dinabass about why Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks was shut down. Full interview here: https://t.co/te5Trhut0Q pic.twitter.com/LGs0n9iV0t
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) May 10, 2024
We're pretty sure that most of you won't be satisfied with the 'answer' that Sarah Bond provided. What's your take on it? Hit the comments below.
Yesterday, a Games Industry analyst pointed out that Microsoft is likely refocusing towards the bigger franchises it now owns. "Xbox wants to reach 3 billion gamers, so it is refocusing towards bigger, sure-bet franchises that will help them reach this goal", MIDiA Research analyst Rhys Elliott told us yesterday. "That is the long-term goal here. Xbox likely did not lay off those studios just for short-term ROI – as the operational costs of those studios are a drop in the bucket for the wider organization. Rather, the layoffs are to refocus and avoid letting the studio creep get too high. The company is shifting towards a new vision, one powered by huge IP and expansion into mobile."
