In contributing yet again to the ongoing wave of Western video game industry layoffs, Microsoft has announced both the closure of two, Microsoft has announced that, as part of a massive restructuring of their Bethesda subsidiary, not only will they be closing the respective studios behind Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush, but also undertaking a massive reorganizing of those teams lucky enough to survive the culling.
Microsoft’s plans to gut Bethesda’s workforce were first revealed to the public on the morning of May 7th courtesy of the official Twitter accounts for the aforementioned Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush teams, Arkane Studios and Tango Gameworks.
In their respective post, the former dev team somberly informed their fans, “Today it was announced that Arkane Austin will close and development will not continue on Redfall.
“To everyone that has supported the work from our Austin studio over the years, thank you,” the studio continued. “Thank you for spending time in our worlds and making them our own. [Our parent studio] Arkane Lyon will continue their focus on immersive experiences where they are hard at work on their upcoming project.”
Following the assurance that “Redfall players who purchased the Hero Pass as part of the premium Bite Back Edition or the premium Bite Back upgrade will be eligible to receive the value of the upgrade”, Arkane Austin concluded their post by confirming that “While there will be no further updates, Redfall‘s servers will remain online for players to enjoy”.
Opting for a more brief good-bye than their sister studio, the Shinji Mikami-founded Tango Gameworks explained of the situation, “Today it was announced that Tango Gameworks will close.”
“Thank you to everyone that explore the world,” the Ghostwire Tokyo and The Evil Within dev closed out their short statement. “Hi-Fi Rush, along with Tango’s previous titles, will remain available and playable everywhere they are today.”
Unfortunately for Bethesda, the closure of these two studios were far from the only cost-cutting measures Microsoft had in mind for the Starfield developer.
Per an all-company email announcing their pink-slipping plans penned by Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty and later obtained by IGN, in addition to the shuttering of Arkane Studios and Tango Gameworks, Bethesda would also see a number of changes made to the operating teams of their other teams.
“To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success,” explained Booty. “This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us.”
Regarding “the changes going into effect,” the Xbox exec then detailed:
“Arkane Austin – This studio will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arkane Austin has a history of making impactful and innovative games and it is a pedigree that everyone should be proud of. Redfall’s previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide make-good offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC.”
“Alpha Dog Studios – This studio will also close. We appreciate the team’s creativity in bringing Doom to new players. Mighty Doom will be sunset on August 7 and we will be turning off the ability for players to make any purchases in the game.”
“Tango Gameworks – Tango Gameworks will also close. We are thankful for their contributions to Bethesda and players around the world. Hi-Fi Rush will continue to be available to players on the platforms it is today.”
“Roundhouse Games – The team at Roundhouse Games will be joining ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS). Roundhouse has played a key role in many of our recent game launches and bringing them into ZOS to work on The Elder Scrolls Online will mean we can do even more to grow the world that millions of players call home.”
Drawing his message to a close, Booty declared, “With this consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP, a small number of roles across select Bethesda publishing and corporate teams will also be eliminated.”
“Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified today, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with respect and compassion,” he requested of the Bethesda team. “We will provide our full support to those who are impacted in today’s notifications and through their transitions, including severance benefits informed by local laws.”
“These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals at these teams or the risks they took to try new things,” Booty assured those affected by the layoffs. “I acknowledge that these changes are also disruptive to the various support teams across ZeniMax and Bethesda that bring our games to market. We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games.”
Concluding with a generic offering of company PR, Booty ultimately asserted, “Bethesda remains one of the key pillars of Xbox with a strong portfolio of amazing games and thriving communities. As we look to the future, there is an impressive line-up of games on the horizon.”
“In 2024 alone we have Starfield Shattered Space, Fallout 76 Skyline Valley, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, and The Elder Scrolls Online’s Golden Road,” he added. “As we align our plans and resources to best set ourselves up for success in this complex and changing industry, our teams across Arkane Lyon, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios and the Bethesda publishing and corporate teams will be well-positioned to build new IP, explore new game concepts, and expand on our existing franchises.”
Notably, this is not the first significant workforce reduction Microsoft has undertaken in recent history.
In January 2024, the Xbox parent company announced the cutting of roughly 1,900 across their Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax studios – a move motivated in part by shrinking profit projections for the coming year.
To this end, as of writing, it remains unknown just how many employees will ultimately be affected by these layoffs.
