«History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.» That's an idiom I've got rattling in my head while the games industry stares down the barrel of further cuts at Microsoft's gaming division, which is presently citing eerily familiar reasons for its alarmingly-rapid contraction.
Last year saw The Embracer Group (a company with a similar appetite for acquiring game studios) stumble out of a flubbed $2 billion deal, stagger around for a while shedding studios and laying off staff, then finally drop—splitting into three pieces when it hit the ground—almost a full year later.
Widespread criticism followed from players and developers at large, with plenty of jabs fired across the aisle, both subtle and blunt.
Now, with Microsoft's shock closure of studios including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, we're solidly into 'time is a flat circle' territory.
This isn't even the first tolling of the bell—in January, a rash of layoffs shocked over 1,900 Blizzard and Xbox employees, prompting the cancellation of Blizzard's no-longer-upcoming survival game.