Xbox boss Phil Spencer has directly addressed the studio closures of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks which rocked the industry last month. This follows the recent Xbox Games Showcase which didn’t publicly acknowledge the layoffs, though thanks to rounds of interviews after the show, we finally got a response from Spencer that feels a lot less scripted than Sarah Bond’s explanation.
Speaking to IGN yesterday, Phil Spencer directly addressed the closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and others that were impacted by layoffs last month. Spencer admitted that he didn’t talk publicly about the situation until now because most of the effort was getting those laid off during the studio closures proper severance and finding them other opportunities.
Spencer stated:
“The closure of any team is hard obviously on the individuals there, hard on the team. I haven’t been talking publicly about this, because right now is the time for us to focus on the team and the individuals. It’s obviously a decision that’s very hard on them, and I want to make sure through severance and other things that we’re doing the right thing for the individuals on the team. It’s not about my PR, it’s not about Xbox PR. It’s about those teams.”
“In the end, I’ve said over and over, I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make,” Spencer added. “We will continue to go forward. We will continue to invest in what we’re trying to go do in Xbox and build the best business we can, which ensures we can continue to do shows like the one we just did.”
The backlash in the industry was swift, especially for Tango Gameworks which gave Xbox its award-winning title Hi-Fi Rush last year. Given the slate of studios now under Microsoft’s banner, hopefully it doesn’t lead to more bad news and morale dips for all of its first-party talents.
Source: IGN
