After being hinted at last week, and closely following a successful Summer Game Fest showing where it splashed cash on lavish events and fan giveaways, it’s now all but confirmed that Xbox is set to shutter a number of studios, with some high-profile names in the mix.
That’s according to reporting from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier (paywalled), who claims that both Compulsion Games (South of Midnight) and Double Fine (Psychonauts, Brütal Legend), are currently engaged in negotiations with the Microsoft-owned gaming division to spin off their respective studios in an effort to avoid an all-out closure.
Schreier’s report also names the BAFTA Award-winning Ninja Theory as another developer in talks with Xbox as the threat of closed doors looms, among “several other studios.” Ninja Theory just announced a big, new title at Xbox’s Summer Game Fest showcase, a third game in its much-loved Hellblade saga, simply titled Senua.
Head of Xbox Game Studios, Craig Duncan, has reportedly also stepped down from his role after less than two years, along with Chief of Staff, Louise O’Connor, who moved from Rare to her broader Xbox role only late last year, according to The Game Business.
In a staff memo published by Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, and head of Xbox, Matt Booty, last week, the pair signaled major adjustments coming to the brand in the wake of lagging profit margins and massive spending on investments – including the company’s $69 billion USD takeover of Activision Blizzard.
The Bloomberg flags says that the studios faced with this latest round of shutterings may have the option to buy themselves back from the Xbox brand and go – or return to being – independent, though this would come with its own challenges including unavoidable layoffs. The report claims that employees at multiple studios have been given the green light to start looking for new work, while the fate of their respective outfits remains unclear, with many already taking to LinkedIn to seek opportunities.
The alleged axing of these three studios in particular paints a pretty clear picture of an Xbox in the midst of its hyped “reset,” attempting to reverse years of unclear direction, shaky messaging and bloated spending with little return. The three studios named here have produced some incredibly, acclaimed and award-winning titles but haven’t achieved the same level of success commercially, making them easy targets for a leadership looking to shed weight.
That’s through no fault of their own though, and it remains exasperating to continue to see hard-working and talented folks at the bottom become victim to poor decisions and shareholding-grubbing by those at the top. Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and still to be affected.