Xbox president swerves question about closing Hi-Fi Rush and Prey teams, says "success for each game and studio is really unique"
May. 10, 2024“There’s no one size fits all for us”
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
During the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco, Bond was questioned about why a successful game can’t ensure a team’s survival at the company. Tango Gameworks released the rhythm action joyride Hi-Fi Rush last year, scooped up several awards, and byMicrosoft’s own admission,created a “breakout hit"on all fronts. Tango was axed along with three other studios regardless.
“One of the things I really love about the games industry is it’s a creative art form, and it means that the situation and what success is for each game and studio is really unique,” Bond says. “There’s no one size fits all for us. And so, we look at each studio, each game team, and we look at a whole variety of factors when we’re faced with making decisions and tradeoffs like that.”
The Xbox president also painted the closures as a necessary measure “to make sure that the business is healthy for the long term… it all comes back to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we build, the services, and ensuring that we’re setting ourselves up to be able to deliver on these promises.”
Xbox Game Studiosboss Matt Booty said the cuts were made so the company could focus on a “reprioritization” for the company’s “high-impact titles” - and in a later town hall meeting, he also expressed thatthe company needed “smaller games that give us prestige and awards”… like Hi-Fi Rush?
Microsoft made similar cutbacks earlier this year when itlaid off around 1,900 employeesin its gaming division, mostly from its newly acquiredActivision Blizzard. That $69 billion buyout has probably recontextualized what success means for an Xbox game. The pitchedHi-Fi Rush sequelcould have done wonders for the ecosystem - just look at the way Uncharted andZelda leaped in popularitybetween entries - but next to a Call of Duty skin pack, it probably doesn’t satisfy shareholder demands.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Hi-Fi Rush fans mourn studio closure despite critical acclaim: “What hope is there for anyone?”
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
Todd Howard “rolled his eyes” at the idea of Troy Baker playing Indiana Jones in the Great Circle, but the Bethesda boss later told him “you’re doing a hell of a job”
