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Microsoft surprised the gaming network this week by announcing the closure of 4 Bethesda-owned studios, Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Studios, and Roundhouse Games. The biggest wonder was Tango Gameworks, the studio Hi-Fi Rush, a critically acclaimed game. which was recently ported to PS5 in March 2024. This Xbox logo resolution wasn’t expected on the network, but a former Microsoft employee shed some light on its resolution and what the future holds for Xbox.
Brad Hilderbrand, former senior public director at Microsoft, posted a detailed article on LinkedIn explaining why Tango Gameworks and other Bethesda studios were shut down through Microsoft. Following the announcement, some at the gaming network called for Phil Spencer’s resignation, bringing up his poor decisions. as CEO of Xbox Gaming since the launch of Xbox One.
In the post, Hilderbrand attributes this in large part to Game Pass preventing games from meeting sales expectations, as well as Microsoft recouping its investment after acquiring Activision Blizzard.
“The biggest paradox of Game Pass is that virtually every single game introduced to the service largely falls short of its sales targets. However, it makes sense, why pay the full value to buy a game when you can play it “for free” as a component?of your subscription?
Hilderbrand then went over how games generate revenue through Game Pass, something that many gamers have wondered about and has never been publicly discussed through Microsoft. The most successful games see their winnings increase, however, many single-player games drop temporarily. charts, which means that the profit of names stagnates very temporarily.
He also noted that Redfall was “never lucky” as it was introduced blank as soon as it arrived due to replaced graphics and poor gameplay, disappointing many players who were eager to bet on it.
“Part of the explanation for this is that a portion of the proceeds goes to the top-performing Game Pass games each month, but there are points that oppose gaming. Namely, the fact that the maximum number of games does not remain at the maximum level of the charts for more than a month or two, and also that the Game Pass expansion has stalled. So games like Hi-Fi Rush, which is awesome, of course, get a little stack of profit by being the most popular Game Pass game for a month, and then fall off a cliff when everyone else moves on. Poor Redfall in an even worse scenario when he pitched so brutally that he never had a chance.
The former public relations executive explained that the eventual closure of Bethesda’s four studios can be attributed to Microsoft’s recent spending spree, in which the company bought Bethesda for $7. 5 billion, followed by Activision for about $75 billion. Although the company now has an impressive list of titles and IP uploads under its belt, the investment wants to recoup itself and one way to do that is to cut costs, considering that Redfall and Starfield haven’t managed to upload as many new suores as the company had hoped.
As for what could help expand Xbox Game Pass again, Call of Duty is the franchise that gamers will turn to without delay. But, as Hilderbrand points out, forgoing guaranteed sales profits in favor of Game Pass subscriptions is a risk. Games regularly exceed $1 billion in sales, however, when it comes to Xbox’s share of profits, and to a lesser extent on PC, much of that profit will be lost if players decide to try them out on Game Pass. If Microsoft launches the new Call of Duty game on Xbox Game Pass after the launch on day one, it’s conceivable that we’re about to see one of the lowest-selling Call of Duty games of all time.
“The most productive bet is COD, but are you risking the guaranteed sales benefit that the franchise brings by putting it on Game Pass on day one and potentially wasting it on big sales?I don’t know what the projects are, but you also either put It You buy it on Game Pass and lose money, or you don’t and subscribers rebel because they think that’s what they signed up for.
Hilderbrand concluded his post by noting that while Call of Duty will probably never close, he fears that more studios will close in the future.
“COD will be fine, as will other mega-studios with massive IP, but you can see the impact; all the little studios that create compelling games are going to disappear, simply because, no matter how smart games like Hi-Fi Rush are, “They’re never going to make enough money to fill that $70 billion gap that Xbox now has to get out of. “
Some gamers are already starting to worry about studios like Ninja Theory, which are gearing up to release the highly anticipated Hellblade 2 on May 21. Many worry that if it doesn’t meet expectations, the studio could close in the short term as well. into the future.
David is a game news item at VideoGamer. His favorite franchises include Resident Evil and Final Fantasy. Despite being a boom in gaming, he still likes to start the 90s in Fortnite.