Xbox shuts down studios behind Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall

Microsoft and Xbox have officially shut down four game-development studios under its wing, including two of the most iconic Bethesda Softworks studios: Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. The former is best known for titles like the original Dishonored, Prey (2017), Prey: Mooncrash, and Redfall, while the latter is famous for titles like The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Hi-Fi Rush.

The other two smaller studios hit by the recent wave of shutdowns include Alpha Dog Games, developers behind the mobile game Might Doom, and Roundhouse Studios.

The studio shutdowns were confirmed via an email by Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty, read on to learn more.

Although the games by Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks had a massive fan following, they might not have been commercially successful on the same level as other Bethesda or Xbox IPs. Arkane Austin was a part of Arkane Lyon (formerly known as Arkane Studios) and was responsible for some of Bethesda's best titles.

Arkane Austin was initially spearheaded by Raphael Colontonio, one of the co-creators of the Dishonored franchise, who left Bethesda Softworks after the release of Prey (2017) to start his own indie studio, WolfEye Studio. While many heralded Prey among the best immersive sims, its sales weren't as much.

Arkane Austin then went on to develop Mooncrash, a semi-roguelike DLC for Prey, which garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and players alike. However, the studio's most recent title, Redfall, met a disastrous end and was crowned by many as one of 2023's worst games.

While both Matt Booty and Phil Spencer promised that Redfall would recover with post-launch patches, even after major title updates, the game has yet to reach an acceptable state in terms of