Microsoft has never had the best reputation. Even by giant conglomerate standards they tend to be less well liked than other companies who invade your privacy, sell you defective stuff and rip you off for every little thing. But over the last few years they have seemed to harbor at least some good will with gamers with the XBOX 360. What with their “amazing” online service and the “high” standards they set for games or something.
But not me. Oh no, definitely not me...So let’s back up a bit and look at Microsoft’s history with video games.
For Xbox’s hugely expanded gaming division, anything that isn’t Call of Duty is now a failure, and that’s a problem
Honestly, If I worked presently for Microsoft's gaming division, I would update my CV and look for work elsewhere...
I would do the same, because MS will most likely pull-off more stunts like this in the near future...
"Now"?
How about "ever"?
They closed so many of their dev teams during the second half of the Xbox 360 era. Have we forgotten history so quickly?
Dummy fake journalists acting so surprised over these recent closures, when this is something that's been going on for well over a decade now with MS.
"The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished.
This week, Xbox began offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax, which it purchased in 2020 for $7.5 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Others across the Xbox organization have been told that more cuts are on the way.
Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said.
Game Pass has not seen the massive growth that Xbox boss Phil Spencer may have been hoping for."
Sense it seems very few remember that human's were around before 2020 the next studio to close will be bethesda based no doubt on the history of.
Fallout 76
Elder scrolls online
elder scrolls blades mobile
fallout mobile
The vr versions of old games
Then you got starfield pissing out cash nothing to cover it.
I doubt tod's team or any sub team is making m$ cash they are no doubt on the chopping block for job cuts
If you can remember before 2020 even fallout 76 was made with over 4 studios.
"Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said"
So what you're saying is...you bought all these studios and you guys can't run them.
Jesus.
Spread thin after firing over 2000 employees a few months prior. So basically they created the problem and their solution was to just fire more people. Absolute geniuses over at Xbox, of course can we even believe this to be the reason for the closures?
Leaders can't run them hire more management create new roles don't shutter entire studios cause you can't figure out how to run them.
Unless the reality is this whole consolidation thing was really an excuse for IP harvesting
Reports are suggesting that Game Pass will be getting a price hike soon and that Call of Duty may not be added to the day one offering. I honestly have a hard time believing this but it does beg the question why exactly did GP fail? I think the answer is that it just didn't get the growth that it anticipated. Jim was right but I wish he wasn't because at the end of the day, its gamers, devs and other front-line workers who have to absorb the blow for Spencer and team's miscalculations.
I think 2022 killed the Series X.
2021 was a good year for Xbox though and maybe the best in a long long time, hardware and software and as a publisher. Halo Infinite launched to popularity, Forza Horizon 5 blew everyone away, Psychonauts 2 was so well received, Flight Simulator on console, Deathloop even on PS5 & PC.
But they followed that up with next to nothing. Then 2023 with Redfall, a disappointing Forza, Starfield, and 2024 leads with closures and layoffs. And some tweets reminding us Hellblade is days away.
The only disappointment with the PS5 is not enough Sony games. Xbox followed up no games with disappointing ones.
For all the armchair executives who were calling for Sony to release its big-budget AAA games on PS+, the same exact thing would have happened at PlayStation. Game Pass has killed Xbox. Congrats.
There's not many of of us clamoring for Sony to do this because most of us understand it would kill Playstation. I'm sure there's a few but I've not seen alot of it myself.
"the same exact thing would have happened at PlayStation"
But the same thing *has* been happening at PS. They've closed, what, 3 or 4 studios so far this gen? Laid off plenty of staff, restructured studios, etc.
Twisted Voxel writes: "We've almost reached the end of the 1st half of 2024, and Xbox has had more studio closures than first party game releases in the year so far."
Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Towerborne, and Call of Duty are still to be released this year. Marcus Fenix collection to be added to the list with the Xbox showcase, hopefully.
"Xbox Has Had More Studio Closures Than First Party Game Releases So Far In 2024"
they kept the IPs though. they'll be making them under the MS brand i'm guessing. like minecraft all those years ago.
If we're going to talk in "still to be's" there still could be more studio closures from Microsoft this year as well.
How much confidence do people have in these games being good though? I hope they will be (especially Avowed) but from what we know of them so far, it's hardly a guarantee, is it?
And even if they do turn out to be good, how much of that will be down to Xbox and its leadership? Most of these games were either sequels to games made before being acquired or started development before being acquired.
And just a note on Hellblade II - it is out in two weeks and unless I'm missing something, I don't see much in the way of previews or advertising from Microsoft. Not ideal for a niche game that looks like it probably cost a lot of money to make. It genuinely feels like another game being sent out to die and then have the studio shut down.
To me...Avowed graphics look cheap, the game looks generic as well as boring.
I find it interesting that people have to resort to praising how they were randomly born in a certain location to say they're not weird. But, I'm not sure this kind of stupidity can be generalized over an entire group of people, at least, I'm being optimistic here.
Sony doesn't have to bother fighting the next Microsoft acquisition. The massive layoff by themselves should be enough to get the next big buy blocked.
Vindicates Jim Ryan. Don't know who didnt see this coming except those frothing pro acquisition fanboys who are not commenting here for some reason....
Let’s not pretend Sony is setting the world on fire with its first party either….it’s been crickets from them as well. In fact they even said not to expect any at all this year.
MS is a dumpster fire and Sony isn’t fighting anymore and it shows. I fail to see how this is a good thing.
Wasn't it no new existing IP entries? That would still leave room for new IPs, maybe we'll see one or more of those this year.
So if MS hadn't spent $80 billion consolidating the industry just think of all the games and jobs that would have saved.
MS is a drain on gaming and have been nothing but a negative.
not exactly like the studios were putting out good games anyway. Industry needs to restart from the ground up; if games like battlebit or manor lords can be made by teams with 10 people - then there's something fundamentally wrong with having 500 man teams put out glitchy overmonetized crap.
Interesting. Prey was a good game, evil within was dope, and hi fi was the best Xbox game that Xbox has had in so many years. That's according to the base.
HiFi Rush was a really good game actually so that's hardly the reason for shutting down Tango.
Seeing a lot of hate - touched with plenty of comedy for the most part - but nothing that really touches on the central issue of MS "highjacking" anything.
Problem is that they're not gonna keep all the fans they got this generation. The PS4 is very likely to steal most of Microsoft market back and even take some devoted Xbox adopters with them as well.
Also, no matter how much money Microsoft have and how good they are, they will not escape the curse of the third console.
Multiplatformgames 360. Passing on the next, thanks.
The 360 only has one redeeming feature for me: Multiplatform games usually run better on it.
And that's it, otherwise it's an unremarkable console (with a good pad for FPS, sure)