Bethesda Softworks to close Arkane Austin [Redfall], Tango Gameworks[Hi-Fi RUSH,The Evil Within], Alpha Dog Games[mobile games], and Roundhouse Studios [remnants of Human Head Studios: Prey,Rune]
Bethesda Softworks to close Arkane Austin [Redfall], Tango Gameworks[Hi-Fi RUSH,The Evil Within], Alpha Dog Games[mobile games], and Roundhouse Studios [remnants of Human Head Studios: Prey,Rune]
Bethesda Softworks will close Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi RUSH and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, as well as Alpha Dog Games and Roundhouse Studios, according to a companywid…
This just proves there's no added value in studios being bought up by bigger studios like EA and the like.
- buy the small studio,
- get the IP,
- dont do anything with the IP,
- fire everyone in tiny studio to "save costs" ( read: send more money to shareholders )
- ?????
The people working the smaller studios deserve more and better. I dont know about the others. But HiFi rush had great reviews IIRC.
Edit: I may very well just be salty.
This is the way capitalism deals with competition. You don’t get better, you simply buy whoever poses a threat to your business and you just shut it down.
This is why games are so expensive.
So they can use that money against us.
I don't think you're salty, HFR has millions of units sold and is pretty highly rated. It's insane they would simply close the entire studio, it definitely reeks of "make number go up." Especially since they seemingly didn't give any real reason.
These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games
By shit-canning the whole teams behind these properties?? Yeah okay...
Ugh.
They don't all need to be 10-year development AAA games. Maybe we need more than another 150+ hr, $80 game. These studios were doing good stuff that checked a lot of boxes and now they're gone or stuck with Microsoft making more starfield updates.
That's why I like indie games. Some of the simplest games I have over 200 hours played.
2023 was one of the greatest years in gaming history. What's the reward for all the hard work?
You lose your jobs and / or your studios.
Capitalism, baby. They keep you around until they make the money they need you for then throw you out.
After Redfall I'm not surprised to see Arkane on the list, they never should have been stuck with that project in the first place but it killed them either way. Seeing Tango Gameworks though, after the absolute banger that was Hi-Fi RUSH, is disappointing. They probably made Bethesda's biggest hit last year.
Arkane might be the last great major developer
Sacking Harvey Smith doesn't seem right.
Rockstar and Santa Monica Studio still produce incredibly high-quality and groundbreaking games.
Most great studios of the past have lowered their standards to the point of irrelevancy, though.
Ngl I just love dishonored 1 and 2 so goddam much
And nothing of value was lost. It's all mass market bullshit.