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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Microsoft has closed down multiple Bethesda studios, including: Tango, Arkane Austin, etc

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A break out hit in all key measurements and expectations.Couldn't be happier with them.Shut down 1 year later. Uh huh.



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Tango?! Hi-Fi Rush is an amazing game. That really sucks. Plus it is their only Japanese studio.

Arkane Austin after Redfall isn't a huge surprise. And the the other 2 small studios are merging with Zenimax Online. 

These layoffs in gaming have been really bad since last year. 



VGChartz Sales Analyst and Writer - William D'Angelo - I stream on Twitch and have my own YouTubeFollow me on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Writer of the Sales Comparison | Weekly Hardware Breakdown Top 10 | Weekly Sales Analysis | Marketshare Features, as well as daily news on the Video Game Industry.

The timing of the Tango closure in particular is surprising, because MS acknowledged that they "couldn't be happier with what Tango delivered" in Hi-Fi Rush.
Sales were reportedly below expectations, but I don't think that's Tango's fault. And now the game is getting a chance to reach a larger audience on PS5 and presumably Switch 2.

MS knows its a good game. Everyone that played it thinks its a good game.
So that closure in particular really sucks.

Redfall was a huge blunder from what I could tell, so the closure of Arkane is much less surprising, but they have a good trackrecord before Redfall, so it seems harsh to do that after one misstep.

Last edited by Hiku - on 07 May 2024

Zippy6 said:

A break out hit in all key measurements and expectations.Couldn't be happier with them.Shut down 1 year later. Uh huh.

Optics are terrible with this one. I've enjoyed every game Tango has released. What a shame. 



Not a fan of this, I just got into Arkane games last year, played through all the Dishonored games Deathloop and Prey and really enjoyed them.



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Hope support for Redfall remains and odd they'd shut what I think is a more talented Bethesda Studio (Tango)

rapsuperstar31 said:

Not a fan of this, I just got into Arkane games last year, played through all the Dishonored games Deathloop and Prey and really enjoyed them.

They were mainly made by the Lyon side of things, the parent of the 2 studios. They are working on their next game now, so don't worry there.

EDIT: Ha, Wikipedia folks are on the case already. :P



Hmm, pie.

Wouldn’t surprise me if Bethesda & Activision-Blizzard continue to get trimmed up, Microsoft probably only cared about the really massive franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Elder Scrolls & Fallout when they bought them.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

zorg1000 said:

Wouldn’t surprise me if Bethesda & Activision-Blizzard continue to get trimmed up, Microsoft probably only cared about the really massive franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Elder Scrolls & Fallout when they bought them.

Sad but probably true. I see Obsidian working on Fallout as their next game once Avowed releases later this year. And possibly the main Bethesda team growing to the point of having 2 teams rather than 1. 

These closures makes me worried for Double Fine. I hope their next game is a big enough of a hit.



VGChartz Sales Analyst and Writer - William D'Angelo - I stream on Twitch and have my own YouTubeFollow me on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Writer of the Sales Comparison | Weekly Hardware Breakdown Top 10 | Weekly Sales Analysis | Marketshare Features, as well as daily news on the Video Game Industry.

I wish tango would pull a toys for bob kind of move and become independant. But the question would be who's going to fund them if they do..



Once MS bought ABK, the likelihood of their smaller IP's and studios disappearing and shutting down got a lot higher. It's like when Sony started making multiple 20 million sellers and sort of stopped giving a shit about sub 10 million sellers, never mind sub 5 million sellers.