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Microsoft’s Xbox is closing a number of game studios, including Arkane Austin, making it the latest publisher to close studios amid a gaming downturn.
Studios such as Tokyo-based Tango Gameworks, maker of “Hi-Fi Rush,” and Canada-based Alpha Dog will also be closed and some employees will be laid off, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said in a statement. memo which became aware of on Tuesday.
Xbox declined to comment on the number of employees affected by the layoffs.
Growth in personal computing and console gaming is expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels as gamers log fewer gaming hours due to weaker release schedules, research firm data shows Newzoo.
According to Mr. Booty, the “re-prioritization of titles and resources” is intended to allow Xbox to invest heavily in its games portfolio and in new intellectual properties.
All affected studios are units of ZeniMax Media, bought by Microsoft for $7.5 billion in 2021, and Bethesda.
Last month, Microsoft’s Xbox content and services segment reported a 62% jump in third-quarter revenue, largely due to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
“Grand Theft Auto” maker Take-Two Interactive said it would close two studios in a mass layoff, Bloomberg News reported last week.
Microsoft had already laid off 1,900 people at Activision and Xbox earlier this year.
Some of Arkane Austin’s developers will join other studios and work on projects within Bethesda, the creator of “The Elder Scrolls” and “Fallout.”
The servers of the game “Redfall”, created by Arkane, will remain online for players. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
