Xbox president Sarah Bond has responded to some of the criticisms faced by the company in the wake of its recent decisions to shutter a bunch of development studios, laying off employees in the process.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bond referred to the decision as one made to ensure the health of Xbox as a business. “You know, it’s always extraordinarily hard when you have to make decisions like that,” said Bond when asked about the recent decision to close down ZeniMax studios by Bloomberg’s Dina Bass during Bloomberg Tech in San Francisco (courtesy of IGN). “I’ll go back to what I was saying about the industry.
And when we looked at those fundamental trends, we feel a deep responsibility to ensure that the games we make, the devices we build, the services that we offer are there through moments, even when the industry isn’t growing and when you’re through a time of transition.
And the news we announced earlier this week is an outcome of that, and our commitment to make sure that the business is healthy for the long term.” Bond went on to reiterate Xbox’s commitment to supporting games of all sizes, and the company’s commitment to being a platform where players can play games ranging from Grand Theft Auto to Palworld. “But that said, our commitment to having our own studios and working with partners to have games large and small, we’re a platform where you can play GTA, but you can also play Palworld, where you can play Call of Duty and you can also play Pentiment, that doesn’t change.
And frankly, our commitment to Bethesda and the role that it plays is part of Xbox and everything we do,” she said. “It’s actually been pretty fantastic.