Microsoft has announced the closure of well-known firms Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin (including Roundhouse and Alpha Dog Games), much to the chagrin of the gaming community as a whole. These are only the most recent fatalities of the game industry carnage, which started in early 2023 and hasn't stopped. At this rate, there won't be any more teams from the studio closures and widespread layoffs that produced so many beloved and treasured games. Imagine an endless number of Call of Duties permanently inscribed on a person's face to get a glimpse into the future.
A Warm Farewell to Arkane Austin & Tango Gameworks
Tango Gameworks: I'm Appreciative of the Fun and Excitement
What a gem Tango Gameworks was. With The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2, they made a big, big splash. Even if I didn't think much of them, I have to admit that they were really well-made action horror games. It wouldn't surprise me if Shinji Mikami's success helped push Capcom to recreate Resident Evil 2 in the manner that they did. Then there came Ghostwhire: Tokyo, which didn't go gangbusters but was at least visually entertaining. In addition, it was novel and distinct from the studio's earlier work. The gaming community was enthralled with their subsequent style change: Without a doubt, Hi-Fi Rush demonstrated how much we all want for a compact, gameplay-focused game that doesn't need hundreds of hours to master. With direct sales and Game Pass subscriptions, Hi-Fi Rush accumulated three million gamers in spite of the rather shadowy January dump month. Its many award nominations and victories attest to its status as one of the finest games of 2023. Even while Microsoft seemed to be satisfied with the outcome, the game apparently wasn't enough for them.Thus, Tango, thank you. We appreciate your willingness to experiment and maintain variety. And thank you for the best gaming experience I've had in a very long time. Your influence will endure.
Arkane Austin: I'm Appreciative of Prey
I am aware that Redfall, one of the worst games of 2023, was created by Arkane Austin. Let me ask you to read the preceding part and tell me which game was Tango's unexpected swansong before you accuse me of suggesting that a company is only as good as the last game they developed. I cannot dispute Redfall's status as a catastrophe. They fired a hard-missed attempt at a live-service shooter. We won't go into the specifics of how much of it was the higher-ups' fault since, regrettably, it is irrelevant.On this melancholic day, I want to honor Prey 2017, one of my favorite games of the last ten years. It is unfortunate that its sales performance was not very strong, even if it did not fail. It's among the greatest immersive simulations I've ever played. It's amazing how many alternatives you have to solve puzzles and reach other regions. I will always be bitter about transforming into a cup in order to fit through a window opening. The tale itself is very excellent. If you haven't already, give it a try. Arkane Austin, thank you for such a wonderful time.
A Diary
For the hundredth time, businesses are not on the side of the customer is what I want you to take away from all of this. If it would please the shareholders, they will shut down the studios you like and stop making the games you love, without hesitation. However, they would later flip around and give $375 million to Bobby Kotick, the supposed gallstone cairn dressed in human flesh. Tango and Arkane Austin could have survived for ten years or more with that type of money. It's very repulsive. And it seems like there will be further cutbacks.What we lost is something else I want to be with you forever. To start with, we lost two studios (Redfall not included) who were producing pretty good indie games. That's a significant loss for the gaming business, even if we ignore the anguish this will cause people—especially because those kinds of games are becoming more and more popular. From a gaming perspective, it is quite unlikely that we will see a sequel to Dishonored, and we won't likely see a Hi-Fi Rush 2. Furthermore, both were apparently being pitched.And I want no one to ever convince me that Phil Spencer is a gamer. I would never want to hear someone claim that a certain company is interested in video games. We can no longer afford to remain silent in a world where Matt Booty continues to argue that Xbox needs "smaller games that give us prestige and awards" only one day after Tango was killed. I really hope that all of these creators will get together again to form new firms with new games. That's our only hope, along with independent studios, of course, to prevent gaming from completely turning into corporate garbage. Wishing everyone the best of luck.
