I'm getting spammed like crazy on Reddit with Sea of Thieves ads as well lately.

Guys guys! Marketing is here!

I actually have no words 😂😂😂

Sigh.

During a town hall with ZeniMax staff on Wednesday morning, Xbox president Matt Booty praised Hi-Fi Rush but did not specify why the company had shut down the development studio behind it, according to three people who were in attendance.

Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company's studios had been spread too thin — like "peanut butter on bread" — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said.

The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished. This week, Xbox began offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax, which it purchased in 2020 for $7.5 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Others across the Xbox organization have been told that more cuts are on the way.

Xbox Studio Closures: Microsoft Plans More Cost-Cutting Measures After Layoffs - Bloomberg

Matt Booty's comment makes zero fucking sense.

Jill Braff, head of ZeniMax studios, said in the town hall that she hoped the reorganization would allow the division, which also develops Fallout and Doom, to put more focus on fewer projects. "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," she said, according to audio of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg.

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Zenimax isn't even that big but okay, Lol.

Like Zenimax is one of the smallest publishers in the world in terms of studios and employees, Wtf.

I’m sorry but let’s not skip this part please.

“ Before its closure, Arkane had been looking to return to its roots by pitching a new single-player “immersive sim” game, such as a new entry in the Dishonored series, according to the people familiar.”

All I’ll say is ima go take a breath or ima get banned.

How did Zenimax sustain all these studios just fine but now suddenly it's too much when they haven't even added any new studios?

Tango was in the process of pitching a sequel, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information.

Before its closure, Arkane had been looking to return to its roots by pitching a new single-player "immersive sim" game, such as a new entry in the Dishonored series, according to the people familiar.

Jill Braff, head of ZeniMax studios, said in the town hall that she hoped the reorganization would allow the division, which also develops Fallout and Doom, to put more focus on fewer projects. "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," she said, according to audio of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg.

"I think we were about to topple over," she added.

Both Tango and Arkane released games last year and were looking to hire additional staff as they pitched new projects, which Booty and Braff suggested was the main factor behind their closures.

Jill Braff, head of ZeniMax studios, said in the town hall that she hoped the reorganization would allow the division, which also develops Fallout and Doom, to put more focus on fewer projects.

This basically confirms the decision was to make Bethesda focus solely on Elder Scrolls, Fallout...Maybe Doom.