Arkane Lyon boss leads widespread condemnation of Bethesda closures
"This is absolutely terrible."
Arkane Lyon boss Dinga Bakaba and others from across the industry have reacted to today's news of devastating closures at Bethesda.
Earlier today, news broke that Microsoft is making huge cuts at Bethesda, including closing Redfall studio Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks, and Mighty Doom studio Alpha Dog Games.
Bakaba, Arkane Lyon's studio and co-creative director, described the decision as "absolutely terrible" in an irate thread on X, formerly Twitter.
"Permission to be human : to any executive reading this, friendly reminder that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry, and your business as a corporation is to take care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you," he said.
"Don't throw us into gold fever gambits, don't use us as strawmen for miscalculations/blind spots, don't make our work environments darwinist jungles. You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough. We know you can, we seen it before.
"For now, great teams are sunsetting before our eyes again, and it's a fucking gut stab. Lyon is safe, but please be tactful and discerning about all this, and respect affected folks' voice and leave it room to be heard, it's their story to tell, their feelings to express."
Redfall co-director Harvey Smith also shared his feelings on social media. "I just want to say that I love all the people at Arkane Austin so much," he said. "Great times, hard times, we went through so much, together. Of course, today's news is terrible, for all of us. Your talent will lift you up, and I will do anything I can to help."
Others at Bethesda have chimed in with their views.
"What a good partner Microsoft has been," said Julien Eveillé ironically, who previously worked at Arkane. "Gutted for all the lovely people working in these studios. Fuck this."
"Why do I still do this?" questioned an exasperated Mikey Dowling, senior director of communications and franchise at Obsidian.
"Angry. Frustrated. Shocked. Furious. Speechless. Dumbfounded. Perplexed," said Bethesda regional director Alistair Hatch. "I have so much love for the studios affected. The people that made those teams were incredible, hard working, dedicated, and talented. This is horrible."
Remedy's Vida Starčević described the news as "depressing", "heartbreaking" and "rage inducing", while Alan Wake 2 game director Kyle Rowley also shared the sad news.
Larian director of publishing Michael Douse also offered a take in a lengthy thread: "It is probably not a good thing that so much of the industry is actually defined by the palatability of a P&L where nobody is interested in potential and everybody is interested in risk aversion and short term gains. In no world does this make any real sense. Content is king."
He added: "There will be more and more of this, as the industry becomes increasingly unpredictable. Without predictability, risk increases. No amount of PR in the world can compensate as it did back in the day when subs were first launched. Now it's just the killing floor."
Moon Studios' Thomas Mahler, currently busy with No Rest for the Wicked, shared the news to note why he wouldn't allow the studio to be acquired by a big publisher. "I've lived through the 90s and saw what happened when smaller studios got acquired by EA," he said.
Adam Boyes, co-CEO of Iron Galaxy Studios, shared a post noting Microsoft's recent 17 percent increase in revenue, which led to $21.9bn in profits.
Dave Oshry, who runs game dev collective New Blood Interactive, compared the news to the recent closure of Roll7, the studio behind Rollerdrome and the Olli Olli games. "Don't matter if you make a game that's a best seller, award winner or a cult classic," he said. "You're getting shut down by corporate sooner or later, pal."
According to an email sent by Microsoft's Matt Booty, shared with Eurogamer, the decision to close these studios was "grounded in prioritising high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda's portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds".
Today's news arrives less than a month since Hi-Fi Rush won the BAFTA for animation after receiving nominations in five categories.