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Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, HiFi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda

TransTrender

Gold Member
Lol wow. Imagine reading this knowing you won't have an active project in 2 weeks
Quick!
What's the latest on Project Mara?
 
Ricky Gervais Lol GIF
Really absurd stuff, saying corporate fat cats team up with government cronies to screw over the little guy.

These layoffs are a great example of Microsoft's generosity and hestiance to screw people over.

The level of delusion here is insane.
The numbers don't lie, how Suicide Squad sell like hotcakes?

Gamers don't like the style of that kind of bullshit.
 

Schmendrick

Member

Yes let the controllers ejaculate on the short term savings while we get rid of proven talent. That will surely work out great in the long run.

And when the train finally derails the executives that made it happen just take off with their bonuses. It's always the same in every big company.
 
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DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
The numbers don't lie, how Suicide Squad sell like hotcakes?

Gamers don't like the style of that kind of bullshit.

The Suicide Squad game that people were shitting on ever since the gameplay reveal and realized it was going to beat a shitty live service game?

It's not true. You're seeing things that are not even there.
 

bumpkin

Member
So much for the rumored Switch port of Hi-Fi Rush… unless maybe another studio was handling it. Panic Button or Virtuos know their stuff with the hardware.

Still, Tango were behind some of my favorite recent games. Fuck MS for closing ‘em.
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
There is more to the Twitter thread:

zenimax.jpg


zenimax2.jpg


Sounds ridiculously arbitrary. Microsoft directive to Zenimax leadership: Cut two studios. Zenimax Leadership: we picked the two studios pitching projects rather than the ones working on projects. Might as well flip a coin.

What a nothing of a twitter feed. Dude has always been a slimeball piece of shit. The fact that anyone here gives him relevance is sad.
 

bender

What time is it?
What a nothing of a twitter feed. Dude has always been a slimeball piece of shit. The fact that anyone here gives him relevance is sad.

I'm not a fan either due to his extensive past of being a weasel, but he does get scoops and he's right a lot more often than he is wrong. I disagree with his premise that his added context makes the situation seem less absurd. If anything, I think it adds to the absurdity.
 

RickMasters

Member
They want people to sub. The main issue is not enough people buying the console. They dont care if you sub or buy as long as you do one of those.

I agree. Had they sold more consoles they would probably have more subscribers. And by maybe not portingveverything to PC day one that would have helped too. They made a lot of bad bets but I think game pass itself was a great idea.


Also people seem to forget that not every game is on gamepass. Last time I checked I had to buy armoured core 6, balders gate before in order to play them on my series X. Is it the reason don’t buy MS published games anymore? Sure. As long as the sun exists there is. I need to and they are obviously ok with that, or the service would not exist. Does it mean I won’t buy some smaller games like cocoon because I already completed it on GPU? Yes.unless I like them and can’t finish them before leaving gamepass ( and that happens quite a bit too, so I end up buying games I’m probably a long way through like octopath traveller for example) And the devs were paid a figure they were willing to accept in order for that to happen.



Gamepass is not the problem. People here describe it as a cheap sub service but some of the same people are probably in the thread about MS considering a price hike and adding COD, telling us these services are getting expensive ( even though though gamepass cost less than a Big Mac meal these days 🤷🏾‍♂️….. says a lot) ….. the problem is MS not having a clear idea about…. Anything.


Really miss the early 360 days. They showed so much potential right up until they started to get things VERY wrong.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
Yes, the equivalency you're trying to draw @FunkMiller makes no sense in this case.


Folks being happy with a service they pay for isn't the problem. Asking people to mass-cancel their GP subs is going to be about as effective as wearing a pink hat shaped like a vagina and expecting it to get results.

Tango's closure comes just a few weeks after HiFi was released on retail on PS5 and a very likely upcoming Switch port, there wasn't enough breathing room here to determine if the sales / monetary change here made a difference or no, more than likely there were no projects being worked at the studio and they lacked a creative vision to move forward without Mikami.

Just my guess though.

Yeah, not sure how mass-cancellations would help the developers any. Literally the only possible result there is more closures.
 

bender

What time is it?
Don't try to understand what his ulterior motives are; just take the news as it is.

The real talking point is that cuts were made without taking into consideration talent and/or production unless they deemed all the studios in consideration of being cut equal which is ridiculous on its' face. Wanting to jump ship is natural when you work for a company that has been acquired. For those without retention packages and for those with lapsed retention packages, this is a thousand foot neon blinking sign saying "jump ship".
 

Gambit2483

Member
Just came across this image, not sure if it's been posted. But Holy fucking shit.

GM_pH9AWMAAIXLL


What a fucking disaster.
They want to turn Bethesda into a Fallout/Elder Scrolls factory...no more immersive Sims, survival horrors or just "different" games from the typical BGS game. Sad.
 

Mozzarella

Member
Sad to see Arkane close, where will the talent go? i mean ofcourse not all are talented but they also made Prey, pretty sure some devs there are so talented.
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
I'm not a fan either due to his extensive past of being a weasel, but he does get scoops and he's right a lot more often than he is wrong. I disagree with his premise that his added context makes the situation seem less absurd. If anything, I think it adds to the absurdity.

Even still there is STILL no “true” game journalist out there anymore. Like I think Bill Maher is a fucking douchebag right, but makes great points nowadays. I want a Bill Maher or something close for games and opinions.

Moriarty is the closest thing but he’s too cool and also he has his guys there as buffers.

Sad shit. And it’s weird considering the industry makes more than movies.
 
This is something that you are not gonna listen from anybody. But what's happening to Xbox is good in the long run; this "crash" is going to force change in the industry.....and is cool. the true justice is for Xbox to fuck the right out of this industry.
 

XXL

Member

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
This is something that you are not gonna listen from anybody. But what's happening to Xbox is good in the long run; this "crash" is going to force change in the industry.....and is cool. the true justice is for Xbox to fuck the right out of this industry.

Let's roll with that happens. Talk to me in 10 years when ps6 is still $599 7 years later(no reason realy to release a new one), games are $99, and the switch 3 finally releases with the equivelent power of a toaster for $499. Less games are produced, budgets are cut.
Even if you hate ms, you have to recognize a power vacuum in favor of Sony and Nintendo is bad for consumers.

People talk about someone else stepping in ms's place, but who, with no software? If Google or Apple step in, they will be launching with ms games.
 

onQ123

Member
Let's roll with that happens. Talk to me in 10 years when ps6 is still $599 7 years later(no reason realy to release a new one), games are $99, and the switch 3 finally releases with the equivelent power of a toaster for $499. Less games are produced, budgets are cut.
Even if you hate ms, you have to recognize a power vacuum in favor of Sony and Nintendo is bad for consumers.

People talk about someone else stepping in ms's place, but who, with no software? If Google or Apple step in, they will be launching with ms games.
And how does Xbox change any of this?
 
Let's roll with that happens. Talk to me in 10 years when ps6 is still $599 7 years later(no reason realy to release a new one), games are $99, and the switch 3 finally releases with the equivelent power of a toaster for $499. Less games are produced, budgets are cut.
Even if you hate ms, you have to recognize a power vacuum in favor of Sony and Nintendo is bad for consumers.

People talk about someone else stepping in ms's place, but who, with no software? If Google or Apple step in, they will be launching with ms games.
i don't give a flying fuck I mean duck.

The stupidity in trying to frame this as some kind of "but but we need competition" is so fucking retarded

answer to this:
....Competition. Competition is good. right?

How do you define competition?

a) Is having multiple choices for services and products?

b) is having cheaper prices?

c) is about innovation?

d) or is about the quality / quantity?

.....who knows.

people say sony without competition will increase prices and their quality is going to suffer.

and I ask:
Is competition a one way street?

meaning, is only sony the one that should improve?

a few of examples:

Play Station basically has a "monopoly" in Europe and Asia. Ok? and it's very well know that PS has better localization in a territory in which there is no competition. How is this possible?


PS has had an amazing track record over the years releasing quality games in a consistent basis(quantity)....xbox has not....Where are the benefits of competition there?

PS made a VR headset, that's innovation ....where is Xbox's VR headset? Phill promised VR on stage in front of everyone...well, where is it?


The truth of the matter is that xbox has failed to compete against PS. The economic pressures and other markets like mobile/PC are the ones keeping Play Station in check.

Lets not forget once the ABK deal was a approved, what was the first thing MS did?....oh yeah, increase prices, reducing the MS rewards and still releasing subpar games.

so....the competition argument ain't tracking boyz. the xbox brand can happily exists on PC, Mobile and the Samsung gaming hub.

consoles are obsolete so the pundits say, anyway. i am sure Play Station has the days numbered.

now i have one last question, hope someone answer.

Today we have more competition in films and TV shows thanks to streaming....can someone explain why with so many choices, prices keep increasing? and the quality seemingly dropping? isn't this antithetical to the this whole argument?
 
You know what? While this is super shit, if people stopped shitting on every single game MS publish and had buy them instead maybe, just maybe they wouldn't have closed those studios.

How many of you crying right now bought any of those games, prettsure less than 5% how many of you shit on them without even playing them, probably 95%.

Hellblade is gonna sell like shit and being criticized to death just because is MS exclusive (for now..) don't be surprised if Ninja Theory comes next.

Stop being hypocrite.

That does NOT excuse their closure, but it didn't help for sure....

I played and completed this game via gamepass twice, you want the gamepass owners to buy the game too? What's the point of gamepass then?
 
Sounds ridiculously arbitrary. Microsoft directive to Zenimax leadership: Cut two studios. Zenimax Leadership: we picked the two studios pitching projects rather than the ones working on projects. Might as well flip a coin.
Not when you view it from the lens of Zenimax executive. They probably get yearly bonuses based on studio performance. Tango games were probably 4 years away from releasing another game, so Zenimax executives have limited finanical investment in Tango games, especially because they make smaller games. If they cancelled another studio mid-development then they would miss out on potential bonuses if the game never releases
 
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bitbydeath

Gold Member
There is more to the Twitter thread:

zenimax.jpg


zenimax2.jpg


Sounds ridiculously arbitrary. Microsoft directive to Zenimax leadership: Cut two studios. Zenimax Leadership: we picked the two studios pitching projects rather than the ones working on projects. Might as well flip a coin.
This sounds made up TBH.
Seems very unlikely MS would hand Bethesda a gun and tell them to pick any two studios to kill. Their teams are all different sizes and have different costs associated, letting them pick wouldn’t make sense, unless they’re thinking;
“Well, they’re all fucked eventually.”
 

Astray

Member
This is something that you are not gonna listen from anybody. But what's happening to Xbox is good in the long run; this "crash" is going to force change in the industry.....and is cool. the true justice is for Xbox to fuck the right out of this industry.
I'm browsing Twitter, and I have honestly never seen so many people actively turn on the Xbox brand in quite some time now.

I don't think even the June Showcase is gonna fix things either.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
i don't give a flying fuck I mean duck.

The stupidity in trying to frame this as some kind of "but but we need competition" is so fucking retarded

answer to this:

Too long, too much sillyness. Only a fool wants less competition as a consumer in a market.
 

bender

What time is it?
Not when you view it from the lens of Zenimax executive. They probably get yearly bonuses based on studio performance. Tango games were probably 4 years away from releasing another game, so Zenimax executives have limited finanical investment in Tango games, especially because they make smaller games. If they cancelled another studio mid-development then they would miss out on potential bonuses if the game never releases

I still don't think that lens makes it better from a talent retention standpoint but that might be me being idealistic.. Even if we throw out Tango's mobile game, they released 4 games in nine years. I wouldn't consider the Evil Within or Tokyo Ghostwire small games but I digress. The Evil Within took three years to get out the door and one would guess there smaller game, Hi-Fi Rush, could be done even quicker. All that aside, I'd think you'd want to cut weaker staff across all studios rather to fill your quotas, but that of course doesn't take into account infrastructure cost and we don't have all the details on what the kept studios are working on or how far along they are.
 
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