Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio

Today, one day after Microsoft announced that it would shut down four of its games studios, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, held a town hall to discuss the division’s future goals. “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards,” Booty told employees, according to internal remarks shared with The Verge.

[Lightning77]

I've heard there's "civil War" within MS. Between team Xbox and MS.

Putting the pieces there's no way Team Xbox can be that stupid. This is definitely a Satya and the rest of MS doing all this shit.

Not like it matters the industry is being torn apart by MS because they're not giving back to the gamers. The fact they can't get it together and they make excuses for their crap that they do is just amazing.

[purple101]

Xbox hardware team has been folded into the MS surface team and they will develop the next Xbox

Which is very much likely a portable.

[S2Killinit]

Tablet/mobile style xbox handheld incoming? Well, personally I don’t even care anymore.

[notachance]

if it ends up a portable pc and it can't use steam might as well give up now

[RpgSama]

This is Matt Booty inviting other developers to offer themselves to get in front of the fusillade.

[solideagle]

Civil war or not, Tango Games shouldn't have shut down. They have always developed great titles (critically)

Evil Within franchise
Ghost Tokyo
Hi-fi Rush

All of these titles are pretty good in my humble opinion

[LoveSpuds]

I would suggest that Ghostwire Tokyo was 'pretty good', in respect of Evil Within 2 and Hi-Fi Rush I would say those games were excellent. Its a travesty that MS have shuttered them but I remember when Mikami left Tango I thought that might be game over as far as MS was concerned; they were perhaps interested in Mikami's reputation and talents more than they were owning Tango (or even their IP).

[jlove4life]

Rumors has it M$oft was furious with Xbox fumble with Activision purchase and leaks that they're it's basically like a father with a teenager and their father's credit card and now Daddy can't get the money promised so he's about to cut off spending

[jimb0j0nes]

As if Matt Booty's first message to staff wasn't already full of holes...

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Why you lyin why you always lyin? Because if that was true then tango would be open today.

[Rocketisleague]

Companies are like countries. They have internal competition, run on income and don't work quite as well as they should.

Xbox is a subdivision of microsoft. At the end of the day shit rolls downhill

[Goodguy01]

Dafuq lol

[EazyC]

That's not how innovation works. You foster and build that creative culture by showing support for studios that deliver the goods.

[Noskypeno]

I know right, if they were smart they would use Cod, Minecraft, and their big ips that should generate a lot of profit as their money maker, and use these smaller games or games that don't bring the big money as proof that they care about a diverse lineup. Especially if you don't advertise the game, it's hard to expect success, I'm still trying to figure out how Apex legends became successful from it's shadowdrop.

[Deathdeliverer]

That’s hilarious honestly. “We need more teams that can create original content like this! Who’s responsible for this masterpiece?!”
“You fired them yesterday sir”
“Hmm… Well get more people that do what they did that isn’t them!”
People are really trying to drag Sony into this saying BOTH companies are failing.
One is over a decision that actually never even happened. The other is an outfit.

[GamingSinceForever]

MS still owns the IPs regardless of the studio closures. Not sure of they retained the talent that made these smaller games and assigned them elsewhere.

[jznrpg]

They don’t care about the studios or the people in them they only care about the IP. The problem is they don’t have a good track record of taking over IP and making them better. Halo, Fable, Minecraft, Battletoads are some examples of that. It doesn’t matter if you own all the IP but don’t have enough competent teams to make them into something worthwhile.

[Hofstaderman]

And? IPs that can now be whored out, quality be damned....

[XiNatsuDragnel]

So they'll lose quality and probably doesn't justify the closure of tango either man.

[anast]

They need stuff that can go straight to game pass and mobile devices. Games like Hi-fi Rush fit that mold.

[Psychonaut85]

It really is just meat and potato morons all the way up. The level of disconnect from reality is insane. I just wish they’d shut up, if I hear anymore disingenuous Corpo bullshit talk I’m gunna lose my mind.

[Lexreborn2]

Microsoft essentially bought Evil within and Ghostwire and didn’t stop to say…. We could have a huge resident evil like franchise on our hands. They said… kill the studio….

[Aussiesummer]

Lol, xbox what a joke.

[Abear21]

Small studios make small games, pretty sure they forgot to buy small indie studios. They only bought up huge ones with old IP that was popular in the 90’s.

Phil strikes me as a guy who still loves the 80’s and 90’s. Like he has an old Mustang convertible and listens to 80’s rock in it while wearing his leather jackets. These guys only know how to think big, lol.

[ocelot07]

I wonder if Microsoft is now telling the Xbox team what to do? Release games on playstation to max profits. Get rid of this and that studio as a cost cutting measure.

[Petebloodyonion]

Sight... Talk about looking like idiots.
It's like a drug addict saying he's off drugs while rolling a joint.
If you need smaller games that give prestige then why fire the ppl that exactly gave you that?

[VariantAEC]

MS is California sober.

[isarai]

This is comedy gold 🤣

I hope tango staff find work though, cant imagine how betrayed they feel.

[Jigga69]

The biggest joke of the industry. I'm being serious. Never seen this before...

[CrimsonWing69]

Are these a**holes trying to insult fans at this point? Like, what in the hell is going on over there?

I took it personally when they desolved Tango. Evil Within IP is one of my favorites and I was really hoping for a 3rd entry. Now, they go and say something like this after doing what they did… man, I can’t believe I supported this brand.

F*cking disgusting.

[HankHill]

What an apt name he has. 😆

[RNTody]

No one with any sober brain cell left is buying this crap. You don't want these games or need them, and you've never supported them. A game like Returnal, and Hi Fi Rush, will die on Xbox. All you want is ownership, which is why in ten years there isn't a single game or studio or new IP Microsoft has nurtured or developed.

[PRIMORDUS]

I think the best move would be if Microsoft just exit the game industry, we don't need them and I wouldn't give a shit if they left today. They are just cancer in game industry at this point. I wouldn't even want them to make or publish games anymore either, just go away.

[Petebloodyonion]

I completely agree with team Hi-Fi Rush here by saying you just fired the best ppl qualified for what you are asking.
At some point, you have to wonder if MS is trying hard at screwing up!

[ApocalypseShadow]

Microsoft lies and double speaks all the time. It's nothing new and something we've been saying for years to not support their damaging behavior.

It's about CREATING games that define the industry. Not TAKING games to destroy the industry for your own benefit.

[badz149]

it was speculated that MS and xbox think that their fanbase is dumb. now it's no longer a speculation. they really think that their fanbase is dumb!

[Chocoburger]

What type of gamer is even in the Xbox ecosystem at this point? Why buy an Xbox One or Xbox Series when there are superior alternatives?

[VariantAEC]

Some of their fanbase is still supporting MS... they are dumb, and that isn't up for debate anymore.