While Microsoft hasn't interfered with Bethesda's operations much since acquiring the company in 2020, that is slowly starting to change. A round of lay-offs earlier this year impacted several Bethesda teams. Now, a few studios are also being shut down, including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks.

An announcement penned by Xbox Studios lead, Matt Booty, has surfaced online today after being sent to internal staff at Microsoft. In this announcement, we learn about some major changes happening behind the scenes at Bethesda. For starters, Arkane Austin, the studio responsible for Redfall and Prey, is being shut down. Additionally, Microsoft's only Japanese studio, Tango Gameworks, is also closing down, just one year after shipping Hi-Fi Rush, which was arguably the best first-party Xbox game of 2023.

Alpha Dog Studios, Bethesda's mobile-focused studio primarily known for Mighty Doom, is also closing down and the game Mighty Doom will be ‘sunset' in August. Finally, we have Roundhouse Games, which is not closing down. However, the team will be absorbed by Zenimax Online Studios to aid in work on The Elder Scrolls Online and other projects.

Microsoft refers to this as a “consolidation” of Bethesda teams, which will enable the company to “invest more deeply” in Bethesda's portfolio of IP both new and old. However, fans will no doubt be displeased to see that an Arkane studio has been closed, as well as Tango Gameworks. Arkane is known for some of the best single-player games Bethesda has ever published while Tango Gameworks was Microsoft's only foothold in Japan, a part of the world that Microsoft has had issues establishing itself in for years.

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KitGuru Says: What do you think of Microsoft's recent decisions regarding Xbox and its studios/workforce?

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