The closure of four studios, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, by Xbox has been criticized in recent hours. One of the voices that have expressed their discontent is Dinga Bakaba, head of Arkane Lyonwho has noted that this decision feels like “a damn stab in the stomach.”
Through his official Twitter account, Bakaba made his discontent with Microsoft clear. Let us remember that after the purchase of ZeniMax Media, Arkane Austin and Arkane Lyon joined the list of Xbox Game Studios. Despite his position, He proved to be against the closure of the four studios, and all the layoffs that this causes. This is what he said about it:
“This is absolutely terrible. Permission to be human: For any executives reading this, a friendly reminder that video games are a cultural/entertainment industry, and your business as a corporation is to take care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you.
Don’t throw us into gold rush tactics, don’t use us as front men for miscalculations or blind spots, don’t turn our work environments into Darwinian jungles. They say they are proud when we play a good game. Make us proud when times are tough. We know they can, we’ve seen it before.
For now, great teams are disappearing before our eyes again, and it’s a damn stab in the gut. Lyon is a safe place, but be tactful and discerning in all of this, respect the voice of the people affected and leave it space to be heard, it is her story to tell, her feelings to express.”
Don’t throw us into gold fever gambits, don’t use us as strawmen for miscalculations/blind spots, don’t make our work environments darwinist jungles. You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough. We know you can, we saw it before.
— Dinga Bakaba (@DBakaba) May 7, 2024
Among those affected today is Arkane Austin. In addition to the studio closure, Microsoft has confirmed that support for Redfall has come to an end, and all those who purchased the Hero DLC for this title can request a refund. For its part, Arkane Lyon, who are working on Marvel’s Bladehave not undergone any change, but nothing guarantees its safety in the future. On related topics, you can learn more about the closure of the studios here.
Author’s Note:
Surely, Xbox is a mess right now. It’s one thing to fire a couple of employees or lower a studio’s budget after a bad run, but it’s another thing to destroy teams like Tango Gameworks, who have proven to have great value, and gave us HiFi Rush last year. This suggests that no one is free, and if Microsoft’s high expectations are not met, the only alternative is to go through the guillotine.
Via: Dinga Bakaba
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