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[LordOfChaos]

Inside Microsoft’s Xbox turmoil

Xbox employees are bracing for what follows more layoffs.

www.theverge.com

Just hours after learning that Microsoft was shutting down a number of game studios this week, Dinga Bakaba, head of Microsoft-owned Arkane Lyon, decided to let the company know how he felt about the decision — right in public. “Don’t throw us into gold fever gambits, don’t use us as strawmen for miscalculations / blind spots, don’t make our work environments Darwinist jungles,” Bakaba wrote on X.
Bakaba, whose studio wasn’t impacted by the layoffs this week, said his message was aimed at “any executive reading this,” including the Xbox leaders behind the latest wave of layoffs. It was a rare public display of criticism, but sources at Microsoft tell me it reflects a growing discontent and fear among Xbox employees about what comes next.
Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs shocked both employees and fans. Arkane Austin’s big Redfall update was on the way with a new offline mode, and the DLC was being worked on just hours before the studio was closed.

Xbox employees were surprised at the Tango Gameworks closure
The shutdown of Tango Gameworks, the studio behind Hi-Fi Rush, has surprised people the most. The game was considered an Xbox hit, winning praise among critics and making its way to PS5earlier this year. Even Microsoft was happy with Hi-Fi Rush.
“Hi-Fi Rush was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations,” said Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox games marketing, just a year ago. “We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release.”
Greenberg and Xbox chief Phil Spencer both visited Tango Gameworks in September, playing games with the team and posing for group photos. Now, the studio is the latest victim of layoffs that have rocked the game industry over the past 18 months.
Three Bethesda studios — Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Games — are being shuttered, and the team at Roundhouse Studios is moving into ZeniMax Online Studios. The studio closures come less than six months after Microsoft laid off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees and just months after Sony closed some of its own game studios and laid off around 900 employees. The depressing list of layoffs at game studios continues to grow on a weekly basis, with GTA 6 and BioShock publisher Take-Two laying off hundreds of employees last month and cutting projects.
Inside Xbox, there’s now uncertainty about what the future holds and questions over Microsoft’s gaming strategy. While Microsoft is looking toward a more PC-like future for its Xbox console, the company continues to battle a slowdown in Game Pass subscribers, lackluster Xbox sales, and game launch delays.

More at the article

 

[feynoob]

What a disaster phil has been for Xbox. Guy should have retired after Xbox series x. Instead, he destroyed what he built.

 

[Orutisu Furio]

What an epic mess.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

adamsapple . You were right bro,

 

[IDKFA]

What a disaster phil has been for Xbox. Guy should have retired after Xbox series x. Instead, he destroyed what he built.

Why would he. He was named VGC person of the year in 2020 and had (and still has) a large cult following. He was Microsoft's equivalent of Jesus Christ. Die-hard fan boys worship him like a God.

 

[Barakov]

Why would he. He was named VGC person of the year in 2020 and had (and still has) a large cult following. He was Microsoft's equivalent of Jesus Christ. Die-hard fan boys worship him like a God.

Nothing like a false messiah that constantly disappoints people. The Xbox die-hards have the worst case of stolkholm syndrome I've seen in a while.

 

[demigod]

What a disaster phil has been for Xbox. Guy should have retired before the xbox one. Instead, he destroyed what was built.

Fixed for you. The guy simply isn’t a gamer nor does he know how to run a business.

 

[BadBurger]

Yea, well, turmoil happens when your brand keeps losing marketshare and yet leadership remains in place for years on end.

As a primarily PlayStation player when it comes to consoles, I'm just happy this means that all Activision Blizzard Microsoft whatever games will always be released for my console. I don't think Microsoft can afford to take any of their properties console exclusive any longer.

 

[clarky]

What a disaster phil has been for Xbox. Guy should have retired after Xbox series x. Instead, he destroyed what he bought.

FTFY.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

he destroyed what he built.

to be fair it was MS's money

 

[rickybooby87]

 

[djjinx2]

Every article on the same thing, we get it, Xbox is dead.

Please someone hurry with the green rat picture's

 

[Pelta88]