Hard times continue for Xbox. It was recently reported that Microsoft has decided to close four major studios within its organization. These studios included Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, who developed Hi-Fi Rush. Arkane Austin is known for games like Redfall and Prey. The main reason behind these decisions was to cut costs and redirect resources to bigger projects.
Ongoing Layoffs
But these decisions were not limited to studio closures. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Scherier, there are reports that layoffs will continue at Xbox. Microsoft laid off 1900 people earlier this year, mostly from Activision and Xbox divisions. Now, news of new layoffs has caused concern among employees. Bloomberg’s News According to the report, employees have been approaching this situation with confusion and concern for the last few days.
The studio closures were particularly surprising. The closure of Tokyo-based Tango Gameworks, which developed the critically acclaimed and critically acclaimed‘Xbox hit‘ Hi-Fi Rush, was an unexpected development. The game was recently ported to PlayStation 5.
Game Pass May Increase
Economic difficulties are not limited to layoffs. Game Pass subscription fees may increase and there is uncertainty about whether Call of Duty games will be added to the service. Game Pass has not shown the expected growth rate in recent years and Microsoft is pursuing various strategies to remedy this situation. According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Microsoft is planning to raise Game Pass, and in particular Ultimate, in an effort to cut costs.
The Xbox event on the 9th of this month is of great interest in light of these developments. It will be interesting to see how executives react to studio closures and other challenges at the event. The event is also expected to include announcements about new Call of Duty games that are expected to be added to Game Pass. Final situations and decisions can be clarified at this event.