'We love you. We miss you. We hate money': Ultrakill and Gloomwood publisher New Blood Interactive turns a billboard into a grave marker for fallen studios including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin
It's been a rough couple of years for the games industry—and even laying it out like that feels like an understatement. Back in February, the number of layoffs and studio closures were already numerous enough to fit into a horrifying chart, and things haven't exactly slowed down since.
One of the more high-profile recent shocks came from Microsoft, which shut down studios Arkane Austin—developers of Prey and Dishonoured—as well as Tango Gameworks, the studio behind surprise hit Hi-Fi Rush.
It was an especially messed-up situation because, as plenty of developers noted in the aftermath: A studio probably shouldn't sink after a single flop like Redfall, but even if they do make an excellent game, that still won't save them from the margin-fuelled manoeuvres of executives who can't seem to put a straight answer together that justifies putting hundreds out of work.
To commemorate some of the recent losses, New Blood Interactive—the publisher behind games like Ultrakill and Gloomwood—rented a billboard in downtown Los Angeles to express posthumous frustration for the waste in a turbulent industry ruled by acquisitions of unimaginable scale.
“We love you. We miss you. We hate money.”An electronic billboard from New Blood Interactive in downtown LA mourns the closure of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roll7, Sony’s London Studio, Volition and more “Gone but not forgotten” pic.twitter.com/1zCeD4KEEwJune 7, 2024
«Gone but not forgotten,» reads the billboard, which appears to be posted outside the Marriott LA. Out of curiosity, I went ahead and looked to see if this puts it within passing distance of the Summer Games Fest happening later today—it's a half-hour drive away from the YouTube Theater, so while it's possible an SGF-goer might drive past it before attending the event, Google Maps is telling me there are closer hotels.
The billboard lays out the start and end-dates of several studios. Where possible, I'll also go ahead and link to our coverage of their closures if
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