Tango And Arkane Devs Speak Out Following Studio Closures
Earlier today, it was announced that Xbox will be closing multiple studios under its umbrella, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Despite having made several high-profile titles between them, including Hi-Fi Rush, Ghostwire: Tokyo, The Evil Within series, Prey (2018), and Redfall, Xbox explained that it will be shutting the studios to funnel more cash into "high-impact" titles from Bethesda.
The outcry surrounding the closures has been massive, with fans and developers alike criticizing the top brass at Xbox such as Phil Spencer, dragging up old tweets and quotes surrounding titles like Hi-Fi Rush that have aged like milk following today's announcement. Developers at Tango and Arkane have also recently spoken out on Twitter, expressing disappointment, anger, and frustration with Xbox's decisions.
Arkane studio director Harvey Smith was one of the first, stating that he and Arkane Austin "went through so much together" and promising developers affected by the closure that he would "do anything I can to help." Similarly, Arkane production director Ben Horne asked developers to "never give up", while Hi-Fi Rush director John Johanas was in a more solemn mood, saying that he doesn't "quite have the words", but thanks fans for their support.
One of the most high-profile developers to speak out about the closures is Dinga Bakaba, the studio head at Arkane Lyon who has worked on several beloved titles such as Deathloop and Dishonored, and is currently working on Marvel's Blade. Bakaba recently tweeted about the situation, addressing executives directly by claiming they should be "taking care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you."
Bakaba also calls upon executives to stop using developers as "strawmen," and to support them during bad times just as well as whenever they release a good game. He also calls the recent closures of Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin a "f***ing gut stab" and calls upon people to "respect affected folks'
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