Xbox: Closed Bethesda studios were working on Hi-Fi Rush 2 and an immersive sim, per Bloomberg

According to a report published by Jason Schreier on the pages of Bloomberg, Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks they were working on new projects and hiring staff to make them happen before their closure.

For those who missed the issue, yesterday the closure of four Bethesda studios by Microsoft was confirmed, namely Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Roundhouse Studios and Alpha Dog Games.

As for Tango Gameworks, author of the The Evil Within series and Ghostwire Tokyo, according to Schreier’s sources it seems that the studio was preparing a pitch for a sequel to Hi-Fi Rushthat is, a project proposal that Microsoft should have given the green light to or not.

It is worth remembering that Aaron Greenberg, the head of marketing for Xbox, had assured that “Hi-Fi Rush was a great success in all key metrics and expectations”, which in some ways contradicts Microsoft’s decision to close the studio .

Arkane Austin, after the commercial flop of Redfall, seems to have wanted to return to its origins with a single-player “immersive sim” gamea definition that could also include a new Dishonored, as reported by Schreier.

The reasons for the closure of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks

Again according to the testimonies of Bloomberg’s sources, today there was a meeting between Matt Booty, head of Xbox Studios, and the staff of ZeniMax (the company at the head of Bethesda), where, while praising Hi-Fi Rush and specifying that Arkane Austin’s closure is not related to Redfall’s flopdid not provide specific explanations for the closure of each of the affected studios.

Speaking more generally, he justified the decision by stating that Bethesda’s studios were too sparsely distributed and that closing them could free up resources elsewhere. Jill Braff, head of studios at ZeniMax, added that the closures will allow the company to focus on fewer projects improving efficiency. It also seems that the hiring campaign started by Tango and Arkane for new projects also influenced the decision made by Microsoft.

“It’s difficult to support nine studios around the world with a lean core team with an ever-increasing plate of things to do,” Braff said based on a recording obtained by Bloomberg. “I think we were at the point of collapse“.

Obviously take all the details above with a pinch of salt, even though Jason Schreier is considered one of the most reliable journalists in the sector.