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Bethesda Hit By Studio Closures as Microsoft Cleans House

May 7, 2024

It was just revealed that Microsoft has ordered the closure of four studios under the Bethesda umbrella. This staggering move has left the gaming community gobsmacked – it’s the single biggest shutdown sweep in the last eighteen months of industry drama. Microsoft confirmed that Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Games are all being shut down in an effort to ‘reprioritise titles and resources’ at Bethesda.

In an email sent around by Matt Booty, the Head of Xbox Game Studios, it was stated that the company can now ‘invest more deeply in (its) portfolio of games and new IP.’ It was asked that departing employees be treated with ‘respect and compassion’. In social circles, gamers worldwide have slammed Microsoft for these closures, with many wondering what the future of any impacted games will look like.

Mass Closure

Arkane Austin’s Redfall will receive no more updates

This devastating sweep will see four top studios closed and their staff either relocated or laid off entirely. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening per studio:

Tango Gameworks

The creator of the award-winning Hi-Fi Rush is being closed and all employees released, but the game will remain available.

Arkane Austin

Arkane Austin struggled immensely following the miserable launch of Redfall, but any chances of a resurgence have been shut down. The studio is being closed while some employees are being relocated. Fans who purchased the season pass and any DLC for Redfall will be reimbursed but the game will stay online. There will be no more updates for Redfall.

Roundhouse Games

Roundhouse Games is being shuttered but the team is migrating to ZeniMax Online Studios. That means that the squad will be working on The Elder Scrolls Online moving forward.

Alpha Dog Studios

Alpha Dog recently brought Mighty Doom to mobile platforms, but as of August 7, the game will be sunsetted and taken offline. This change marks the end of Alpha Dog Studios as all employees are dismissed.

Even internally, workers are showing their frustration with the decisions being made. From Arkane Lyon, the sister studio to Arkane Austin, Dinga Bakaba (studio director) had stern words for Microsoft:

‘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. You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough. We know you can, we seen it before. For now, great teams are sunsetting before our eyes again, and it’s a ***ing gut stab. Lyon is safe, but please be tactful and discerning about all this, and respect affected folks’ voice and leave it room to be heard, it’s their story to tell, their feelings to express.’

Within the last eighteen months, almost 20,000 industry workers have lost their jobs or been uprooted. We’ve seen projects cancelled after years of work, age-old studios shut down, and thousands of employees cast out by a flailing industry.

In the last year or so, the following companies have made mass layoffs and issued closures: