470°

Report Claims Xbox Is Planning More Cuts Following Studio Closures

"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."

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just_looken11d ago

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.

purple10110d ago (Edited 10d ago )

pretty sure starfield coming to playstation 2024, nx gamer deep diving on the creation engine update in a recent blog, he seems to think, there is a lot of stuff developed to use on starfield for its Playstation release,

who will buy it though, ?? I think M$ has lost all good will now, after the Activision debacle, and now all these studios closing, people dont want to support them even if the game is half decent

Abear2110d ago

Bethesda is the only studio to release anything noteworthy on Xbox. Take Bethesda out and they have nothing this Gen. Hifi Rush and Starfield are probably their two biggest hits.

Cacabunga10d ago

They are counting on bethesda and activision on consoles and PC.
I really hope there would be a massive boycott movement against just the next release. I’m sure they will reconsider.

They see employees as trash, i will never give them a dime.

Eonjay10d ago

Someone said that cost $350 million to make Starfield. The use cost of making games has gotten crazy. With MS putting everything on GP it makes it harder to recoup costs. This is why I assumed that everything is coming to PC and PlayStation. I think they will have a whole slew of titles ready for the Switch 2 launch.

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-Foxtrot11d ago

"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.

Inverno11d ago

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?

FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago

I was just thinking this, they just fired all those people and now stated they are spreading their staff thinly, this just reeks of incompetence.

just_looken11d ago ShowReplies(2)
Profchaos11d ago

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

anast10d ago

He's lying. They are doing it for the shareholders.

11d ago
kayoss10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

The crazy part is that if Xbox goes under, all these great studios will also go under. They've bought up all these studios and instead of letting the studio manage themselves, they fire 2000 across and now they're complaining that they're understaff. Sounds like xbox bit off more than chew. Just like all the promises that they've made but cant keep.

JEECE10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

Well, what do you mean by "if Xbox goes under"? Because MS itself isn't going under. So if they decided Xbox was no longer worth it, it's not like they would just eat all those losses. Sure, for individual developers where there are substantial costs in terms of the people working at the studio and minimal money to be made selling related IP (i.e. Arkane Austin probably costs a lot in resources but MS couldn't have made much selling the studio because Redfall is worthless and they probably want to keep the Prey IP), they may just close them, but if they were getting out of gaming completely, they could sell the IP and related studios elsewhere. Like we may mock Bethesda Games Studios on here, but their biggest IP (Elder Scrolls and Fallout) are very valuable. Similarly, I know Halo has seen much better days, but you are kidding yourself if you don't think that IP is worth a lot.

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Eonjay11d ago

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.

11d ago
NotoriousWhiz11d ago

And out of the ashes something even better than Xbox will be born.

Eonjay11d ago

Honestly as long as is not a situation where the industry has to contract in order focus wealth on a few people who are already trillionaires..

Barlos11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

It's already here and it was born before Xbox was even a thing. It's called PlayStation.

Tacoboto11d ago

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.

Einhander197210d ago

PlayStations history has been built around third and second party publishing. The vast majority of games that people recognize as PlayStation games were made like this.

Insomniac only because a PlayStation Owned studio a few years ago in response to Microsoft buying up studios, every game they made prior to that for PlayStation was as a third party making a games published by Sony.

PlayStation has had an incredible year using that business model.

We got Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldiver 2, Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade, and Silent Hill is right around the corner.

Eonjay10d ago

I think Xbox S. Brand was already dying for some time. Your 2022 point is interesting but also remember that is a year after the lock down which hD created false demand.

Einhander197210d ago

"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."

What?!?

Game Pass failed because from day one it was maintained by subsidization. Game Pass was never profitable, I mean, sure you can say that was because it didn't get the growth they predicted, but their predictions of it having "billions" of subscribers were completely ridiculous, to the point where saying that it didn't have fast enough growth is as completely out of touch with reality as their predictions.

Eonjay10d ago

To clarify, what I am saying is that there is a scenario where GP would have worked and thats where they had a lot more subscribers. You see MS isn't dumb and they charted out how many subs they would need to make the system work. That's why Spencer testified that they would need 80 million subs by 2027 (which is crazy now in retrospect). Now we also understand why Satya Nadella's bonus a few years back was based on that unrealistically high Growth in GP subs. From the beginning they knew that the only way to make it work was with a large base of subs. This is because as you said simply subsidizing won't work forever.

Einhander197210d ago

"To clarify, what I am saying is that there is a scenario where GP would have worked and thats where they had a lot more subscribers."

Yea... but again they expected/wanted an obviously unobtainable number of subscribers. Do you think that taking the risk was a good idea if it was based on getting billions (even 80m) of users?

"You see MS isn't dumb"

Are you sure? Have you been reading the news?

"That's why Spencer testified that they would need 80 million subs by 2027"

This was a refined estimate for the courts, and probably more truthful maybe... but go back and look at the first few years of game pass Microsoft actually said they were going to reach billions of people. Yes that was marketing, but still what they presented to the public to sell the idea.

I actually don't want to argue with you, normally I find your comments agreeable, but this one just came off a little off base to me.

Tacoboto10d ago

"Game Pass failed because from day one it was maintained by subsidization"

I do agree with Eonjay here - *if* Microsoft got the subs they want, Game Pass could have worked. Microsoft assumed people would buy into a subscription service like they already do for TV and Movies and Music.

But that didn't work out, at all, with the catastrophic consequences that we're seeing today.

"Microsoft actually said they were going to reach billions of people"

Reach != Subscriber count. That's your own conflation. Reaching just means "being available in" and usable in, billions of people with the awareness and ability to access the service. There exists no quote saying they estimate "billions" of subscribers.

Eonjay10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

No worries. I consider it more of a conversation than an argument. I learn alot from people who don't agree with me. Bring it on lol!
And yeah I forgot about the whole 'reach billions' PR from MS. I think theybare a victim of their own BS. I think at these companies you do have people push back on pipe dreams from the management.
I mean clearly it wasn't a good idea lol.

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FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago

Maybe they need to put less games on there or just simply charge more from the beginning, I think they guttered their bottom line, they didn't make as much as they could have from selling games.

kayoss10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

GP fail because these studios poured in $100 of millions to makes these games only for it to given out free in GP. Even if Microsoft pay them to put in on GP, they are not making some of the profits they can potentially make. Especially not for AAA games. For studios making lower quality games, this may work but not for AAA. Look at Sony, their AAA games are award winners. Look at god of war ragnarok, they sold 5 million copies to date and needed to sell 3 million copies to break even. Thats a tough market to be in when your AAA game is not guarantee to break even let alone trying to make a sizeable profit.

JEECE10d ago

Ragnarok sold 15 million as of last November.
https://blog.playstation.co...

kayoss9d ago

Sorry, i missed the 1 when typing 15. But the point i was making is that not all AAA games are guarantee to be a success.

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Scissorman11d ago

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.

shinoff218311d ago

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.

porkChop10d ago

"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.

BehindTheRows10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

PlayStation isn’t struggling. Xbox is. That’s the difference.

Sony also didn’t buy out multiple publishers with LOTS of studios and leave them in a state of uncertainty.

So, he’s absolutely right that Sony not following Game Pass in its entirety was smart as this very thing could have happened. Name a team, like Tango, who wasn’t struggling (like Tango) that Sony closed. Every closure was because of a studio who wasn’t pulling their weight.

rlow110d ago

You’re right about that. People on here will turn a blind eye and downvote because it’s Sony. Jim Ryan flew to the London studio and spent the day with them. The very next day they were all fired.

Calling out MS and not Sony. No matter how the studios came to be. Won’t make a damn difference to those who lost their jobs. In the end it’s all the same.

FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

This is why I have always advocated that Sony should not follow Microsoft's footsteps and adopt their model, Xbox couldn't afford to do it, Playstation certainly can't either.

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11d ago
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60°

Crossplay Will Be In College Football 25 But Not In Online Dynasty Mode

EA Sports dropped their first gameplay trailer for College Football 25 today and the game looks truly amazing. Buried in the details of the game hype, however, is a significant letdown for those who play online dynasty (a significant portion of the userbase).

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collegefootball.gg
440°

Resident Evil 1 Remake To Have Slower Pace; Will Further Expand On The Game's Lore

Many details for the upcoming rumored Resident Evil 1 remake have already leaked online. Capcom appears to have huge ambitions for it.

XiNatsuDragnel21h ago

Sounds interesting I'll be interested in the second remake of re1

Cacabunga21h ago

They game cube remake was mind blowing.. another remake would be nice but i was really hoping for Code Veronica first

-Foxtrot20h ago

If it's true they are probably leading up to RE5 with the Chris vs Wesker story

RE1, CV and then RE5

Terry_B19h ago

Their REmake is still one of the best 3 video game remakes ever made.

Cacabunga18h ago

Terry

Zero was not a remake but an amazing game as well. I hope they remake that one one day with some coop play.. great great game

maelstromb14h ago

The whole Lisa Trevor side-story was an incredible addition and really fleshed out more of the lore. It could have easily felt tacked on to artificially extend the length of the game, but it felt 'right' like it should have been in there from the beginning. I'm hoping they include that in the Re-remake.

Yui_Suzumiya1h ago

Code Veronica definitely needs it the most!

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fsfsxii21h ago

Cant wait until they cut the basement section and replace it with something worse.

Becuzisaid21h ago

While I want another modern remake of 1, I think code Veronica should be first. The first re1 remake holds up amazingly well. Give CV it's due.

Scissorman21h ago

As long as the Crimson Heads are back.

Nerdmaster8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

I hope they don't. They were created mainly to justify Wesker not really dying, and they do create more tension, but they don't make much sense.
Re-reviving things that were twice dead? Why would the virus stop there and not keep reviving them forever (until the head gets destroyed)?
And also the characters knowing that destroying their heads keep them from becoming crimson heads, while having a combat knife and lots of heavy objects around to do it while they're down, but having to rely on lucky shots or burning them with oil?
They can create other stuff that serves the same purpose of creating tension but that makes more sense.

Levii_9220h ago

Come on State of Play already!!!

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60°

VR MOBA 'Mecha Party' Is Now Available On Steam & PSVR 2

Mecha Party brings the VR MOBA to Europe and Asia on PSVR 2 and Steam, while the Quest 3 version targets a summer release.

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uploadvr.com
Babadook714h ago

This looks pretty good. RIGZ made me queasy but I've got better VR legs now (I think).