On Tuesday May 7, Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios, told four Bethesda studios they were being shuttered. One day later, May 8, he said in a town hall meeting that Xbox “need[s] smaller games that give prestige and awards.” One of the studio’s closed was Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks.
This is confusing messaging from Xbox leadership. In Booty’s original message to staff announcing the closure of Tango, Redfall‘s Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios, it’s reported he wrote Microsoft want to “prioritise high-impact titles” and “further invest in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades.”
Yesterday’s message, reported by The Verge, that Xbox needs smaller games that win awards, could be considered in opposition with the first even before you acknowledge the studio closures that just occured. But, once you do factor those in, it seems like leadership doesn’t know what it wants. Hi-Fi Rush won several awards and Aaron Greenberg, vice president of Xbox games marketing, wrote that it was a “break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations.” NME‘s review called it “a shockwave of creativity.”
