960°

Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More

Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm.

Moegooner716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Hi-Fi Rush studio??? Seriously?? Goes to show quality matters lil to MS.

Worst gen ever. All big 3 battling are for who sucks the most. They just keep one upping one another.

-Foxtrot716d ago

This does feel like a “quick Sony is getting shit on for Helldivers, let’s announce it now to minimise impact”

thesoftware730716d ago

That is silly. Let's say there is some weird conspiracy. This announcement would effectively take ALL the attention away from the HD2 situation, especially since there is no longer an HD2 situation. I don't think anything will minimize this impact.

Tacoboto716d ago

... so they announce it on a Tuesday? 36 hours after Sony cleared up everything?

You people care more about the next conspiracy than anything else.

Nevermind that Sony followed the golden rule of minimizing impact by announcing horrible news on a Friday.

Eonjay716d ago

The constant weekly weird Sony drama is part of the industry's problem. Everyone else feels they can get away with murder. Also, what is the point of spending all that money if you just start shutting studios down. And... Redfall wasn't Arkane's fought. Microsoft new the shape the game was in but needed something for GamePass after a whole year of no releases into the service. Them taking it out on Arkane seems really disingenuous and distasteful. And WTF did Tango do? Didn't Todd just release a statement saying how he would never retire. Fire his ass.

716d ago
darthv72716d ago

wow... i did not have them closing Tango and Arkane Austin on my bingo card.

Hofstaderman716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Yes it does. Arkane Austin I can understand but Tango Gameworks made an excellent game in Hi Fi Rush.
On review, it want really all on Austin for Redfall and its failure, they were forced to make a multiplayer games when their expertise was always single player driven first person games.

-Foxtrot716d ago

Guys I’m not being all that serious…relax

Outside_ofthe_Box716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

"I don't think anything will minimize this impact."

It already has. Notice your comment(or lack there of) vs HD2.

On another note, I would like to see Microsoft buy more studios and do more shadows drops on subscription services like they did Hi-Fi Rush. It's great for the industry I was told by people on here.

Zeref716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it works. Same thing with layoffs. All of a sudden everyone has layoffs around the same time

Cacabunga716d ago

MS will always make it to amaze me by showing the worse version of themselves every single time..

peppeaccardo716d ago

MS proving to the world that ttheir leadership cannot drive success from these new acquisitions. They have ran the numbers and they have realized that long term, without a clear direction from the motehrship, these are a loss for the company hence they need to be cut. I might be wrong but I am absolutelly sure that if these developers would have not been purchased by Microsoft they would be still on business. A shame ...

senorfartcushion716d ago

Both things have happened but N4G's commenters (90% Playstation ) will follow suit

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 716d ago
Einhander1972716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

10/10 deflection, the ol' Sony too deflect...

Let's not discuss the fact that PlayStations struggles have largely been caused by the fact that game pass has reshaped how consumers spend causing them to spend less as they play what is on subscriptions and don't buy games as much because they either have become subscription gamers or they fear the game will come to a subscription so they don't buy things.

And it's not just PlayStation, the whole industry has been effected, many big studios are struggling across the board to match sales targets from pre-game pass releases which is especially apparent in things like sequels.

Heck the best example was Microsoft's own Starfield which should have easily blasted past 10m sales by the end of 2023 going by sales of similar Bethesda games yet was only able to achieve 3m which of course was almost entirely on Steam.

Moegooner716d ago

Or maybe it's because Sony hasn't released multiple worthwhile SP games like they normally do each gen and the ones they did released actually sold well.

Layoffs aren't because studios are struggling, but because major publishers want to maximise profit gains.

Profchaos716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Absolutely it's a service that's changed the way we view and consume games overall for the worse games have little value when they are part of a sub and become disposable doubly so if they are a day 1 freebie often it's the kiss of death for a game to be day 1 on gamepass as PlayStation players look at it like why do I have to pay 60 dollars for back 4 blood, payday 3 or outriders it'll be on PS plus soon enough and funny enough those games always fail to meet expectations sales are poor and longevity is poor.

When I see a game get a day 1 tag outside of first party my first thought is always something is wrong with it and it can't stand on its own feet so the publisher has made a deal to recoup development cost.

Even first party games have dropped in quality noticeably so since gamepass with gears 5 being the only good release I can think of since gamepass started

Petebloodyonion716d ago

Wasn't aware that Gamepass is available on PlayStation.
Or are you telling us that a service from a console lacking in sales is so great that it affects the morale and buying habits of ppl lacking access to the service?

Also pretty sure that saying all of them competing for who sucks means the whole industry and not just Sony and MS.

Nitrowolf2716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

This is what people online want. They just don't know or understand it. So many have warned about consolidation, and exactly what they have fear has been happening

This isn't the end, expect more bought out studios to be closed in the next few years

Hofstaderman716d ago

Spot on. All in the name "growth" to appease investors and shareholders. Can't sustain the lie though...it will always implode as illustrated by these closures. Applies to MS and Embracer.

TiredGamer716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

This. ^

Publishers are slowly mitigating all development risk since every new big/medium budget game has become too big to fail. Games are too expensive to make and the profitability for titles rests on a hair’s edge. When you need to sell 5 million copies of a game to be profitable, you know that we’ve turned a new page in gaming. The real victims here are the smaller studios/games that bring so much character and variety to the industry, like with Hi-Fi Rush.

It looks to me that Hi-Fi Rush did not fulfill financial expectations for moving the GamePass needle, and the sales from the PlayStation port experiment did not measure up either. So it gets the boot.

Sad day and era for gaming.

notachance716d ago

yeah smaller ABK studios like Toys For Bob are now in dangers

notachance716d ago

I just don’t know how the hell a company that can spend $67b to purchase a publisher decided that it’s okay to close the studio that produces their best game last year.

Whoever the higher up there that decides this is completely out of touch of how the game industry works, the damn xbox division as a whole would’ve been closed already if they weren’t sustained by other MS divisions.

shinoff2183716d ago

I got in an argument with someone on reddit and they weren't haven't that Xbox isn't propped up by other divisions argument. They swore up and down that Xbox was pulling its own weight. I just stopped after a couple back and forths

TiredGamer716d ago

Didn’t move the GamePass needle and the PlayStation port couldn’t save the return on investment….

SeTTriP716d ago Show
dumahim716d ago

So this is what happens when you're pleased with the sales and investing in the studio? Good guy Phil at it again.

Sonic1881716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

From Aaron Greenburg:

"Hi-Fi RUSH was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release."

😂😂😂 🤥🤥

Lightning77716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Once again MS creates their own problems and they create their own animosity. Idc about their shitty excuse and "reasons" they're a incompetent company, plus all their Xbox fanboy influencers are dwindling I noticed. How many excuses can you make for a company like MS? Consoles are down and they're losing their own fanboy influencers also. That's all they had to cheer lead them now they're leaving them. Pretty nobody will be on MS dude no matter if they (if they ever but I doubt it) get their act together.

Trashy ass ppl and company....

If they go under eventual it's because of their own doing nobody else's.

porkChop716d ago

Yeah overall this gen is pretty shit. Everyone is making horrible decisions, great devs are getting either gutted or entirely shut down regardless of quality or success, very little in the way of innovative games, etc. This industry needs to see some drastic changes.

badz149716d ago

where are all the cheerleaders for MS acquisitions amid all these?? you guys happy now? this will not be the end of it, maybe just the beginning!

OptimusDK715d ago

Maybe it has to do with this:
Hinji Mikami is leaving Tango Gameworks in the coming months.On February 23 it was reported that Mikami would be departing Tango Gameworks. Bethesda has stepped in to confirm the report of Mikami's forthcoming departure from the studio he founded over a decade ago.

Mikami originally founded Tango Gameworks in 2010 after departing Capcom, having lead the development of iconic games like Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 715d ago
shadowT716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Tango Gameworks and Arkane?

RaidenBlack716d ago

Arkane Austin (Prey developer)
Not Arkane Lyon ( Dishonored developer)

Crows90716d ago

Prey was fantastic. Red fall was shit because they were forced to do shit they didn't want to make.

Atkane Lyon did death loop I believe....I hated that one.

shinoff2183716d ago

I personally liked prey more.

RaidenBlack716d ago

@shinoff2183
Because Prey was creative and different
Other than the live service Redfall, all other single-player Arkane projects have been creative and interesting

Tankbusta40716d ago

@Crows90

So just because people don't want to do something in life...bad quality is excused? Look what happened over that bad quality? no more studio

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 716d ago
MrDead716d ago

Will be more soon, I've said it before I can't see MS keeping Bethesda. I think they'll strip it's IPs and slowly close everything, it's what they do.

VariantAEC716d ago

No one wants to admit it, but yeah MS has a long history of pillaging other smaller corporations for IP and dispensing with everything else.

Zeref716d ago

That doesn't make any sense lol. How would they make money from these IP'S with no developers?

MrDead716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

@Zeref
"That doesn't make any sense lol. How would they make money from these IP'S with no developers?"

MS don't care about the studios, they want the IP's. They'll keep the big ones in house, the game engines they run on and licence the rest. Stacks of cash to be made from licensing IP's ...or just sit on them so no one else can use them.

blackblades716d ago

@Zeref silly fool, buy them for the IP have there other studios make the games using the IP names to sell them. We all know having a popular franchise name can sell

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 716d ago
Einhander1972716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Well xbox fans you got what you asked for... and honestly deserved...

It was so easily predictable that game pass was never going to be able to support all these studios.

If Microsoft can't win they are going to burn it all to the ground...

Countdown to Phil Spencer telling us "it's better for the gamers this way" yet again.

Barlos716d ago

Agree but gamers didn't ask for people to be out of work.

VenomUK716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

@Barlos They indirectly did. Every person who made a wish list of who Microsoft should buy next and were sending tweets to Phil Spencer and Xbox with proposed studios, played a part.

The saddest part is the studios were closed because of the underperformance of their last games, and if they had been given a chance then their next games could’ve been great and succeeded. But it is the same old Phil Spencer Microsoft problem which is not giving them a chance, and that’s why he is not able to manage game studios.

VariantAEC716d ago

Yeah they did. Just because they refused to see what everyone with a brain was telling them doesn't mean they didn't know. They were told, they should've put up a fight and they didn't. This is the result. But who knows even if MS' fans weren't such boot-lickers, MS could've carried this out against their fans wishes anyway. Unfortunately, we have the hardcore MS defense bots running to deflect from any bad news and maybe, just maybe, MS felt empowered to do more damage as a result of their fans cheering this all on.

anast716d ago

They sold themselves out. Once people buy you they can do what they want. None of this should have been a surprise. When companies get bought out, they eventually get dismantled.

shinoff2183716d ago

Xbox fans were to busy daydreaming of Ms curbstopping Sony they didn't look at the big picture.

Einhander1972716d ago

Not disagreeing at all.

I want to add that from the day Microsoft announced game pass, before they even started buying up studios it was obvious that game pass wasn't going to be able to support itself.

It was so dumb that they doubled down on it by spending 100B on a service they knew only existed through subsidization.

They should have realized there was no way that adding massively more costs on a subscription they were subsidizing was certain to fail. Especially after seeing how it had devastated sales across the platform as a whole.

Heck by the time this generation started during covid when the console sales were similar PlayStation was already outselling xbox on multiplatform games 8:1 yet they still doubled down on it.

716d ago
Relientk77716d ago

This is beyond wrong. Like wtf!? Especially Tango Gameworks with Hi-Fi Rush. I've heard nothing but good things about that game. Just because Arkane Austin screwed up one game release doesn't mean you need to close them. It sounds like they were forced to do a multiplayer game when they're a single player studio. They could have made a Prey 2 or some other game next.

Just wow awful news.

Einhander1972716d ago

Apparently PlayStation owners didn't buy enough copies of Hi-Fi Rush...

716d ago
RpgSama716d ago

@Romulus23

All lies by the Green Bug, that just means that a lot of people fired bullets or whatever in the game, that's the key measurements they care to share.

Tango did NOT deserve to be closed down, they have not released a single bad game.

Crows90716d ago

That's usually what happens when you don't release it at the same time as other platforms....same thing happened with tomb raider reboot sequel. MS got exclusivity for a year and then when it came to PlayStation it barely sold. Nobody cared anymore.

shinoff2183716d ago

Still waiting on the physical release pre order window

VariantAEC716d ago

Well... I did my part. Hi-Fi Rush is a good game, but I don't think its MS' style. We don't really know how well it did or didn't perform by the numbers or whether it broke even. This could just be another MS blunder.

Elda716d ago

Exactly. MS purchasing a 3rd party studio & keeping games off of other platforms probably hurt them in the long run, then finally putting Hi Fi Rush on PS which in turn PS fans probably didn't care to buy & support Hi Fi Rush after a year later of release. Hi Fi Rush was released on Gamepass so it probably never really made any money selling solely.

Eonjay716d ago

@romulus23

Let's hope it didn't sell well because that would make this worse. Also I could have sworn I read an article about their next game in the works.

Seraphim716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

I was wondering if that played any part considering the timing, though, XB claimed the game to be a success last year only on XB & PC. Regardless MS f'd up there too. They shadow dropped HiFi on XB/PC last year at the perfect time. This year when they released on PS not only had the hype died, but there were so many solid games available the first 3 months of this year to play.

I almost bought it on PC last year, but now that it dropped on PS I just have far too many games to play to bother...

If MS needs PS and even Switch sales they need a better strategy. At the very least a release date where players are more inticed to buy said game. The problem is always going to be that if they want exclusives the hype for these games will be dead a year later. The exceptions might be some of their heavy hitters.... 2 cents

Angyobangyo716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

PS and PC owners probably bought more copies that Xbox owners.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 716d ago
CrashMania716d ago

I can only imagine the little amount of revenue both games generated, sent straight to gamepass and excluded from the largest current gen console userbase. Not to say both games would have done well if they were on PS5 too, but you heavily damage to a games revenue when you put it on a stagnating sub service for a poorly selling console, can't really see people going out in droves to sub to GP to play this.

shinoff2183716d ago

Gamepass subs(most of Xbox players) don't buy games all like that so it's not sustainable. It's reality.

RaidenBlack716d ago

Yea Austin made one of the most creative game of last gen with Prey and were forced to take risk with Redfall and now the whole studio is being closed.

Aphrodia716d ago

Yes, that Tango gameworks/ Hi-Fi closure was an eye opener for me as well. Neither played it nor was interested in it myself but all I heard was everyone acting like it was the second coming of guitar hero or something.

I don't know what else to say other than modern gaming is an overwhelming sea of mediocrity and there's not enough voices of reason speaking up and saying that most games made these days are just not very good.

shinoff2183716d ago

Your playing the wrong games then. There's always been shovelware type games. Going back to wii, snes, nes, ps1 Xbox og. That's a bs blanket statement. As an older gamer since atari days I'd personally say this is a great time. If you can't find anything to play. That's on you

With all that said in no way or form am I speaking of multi-player games, gacha, or whatever. I'm strictly speaking on single player games.

Aphrodia716d ago

you are hilarious. trying to validate your comment by excluding over half of the games out there today. Pathetic man.

Neonridr716d ago

I'm more devastated at the loss of The Evil Within.

Chevalier716d ago

Wait I was told Xbox had great engagement numbers?! Some Xbox fans said they bought games when I told them Xbox customers don't buy games?

So Xbox bought studios to keep games off other platforms and forgot they conditioned Xbox customers to not buy games. Whoops.

So anyone else think Outer World's 2 dies 🤔? I'm thinking a small game losing out on Nintendo and Playstation gamers buying will kill this IP. But it's okay Xbox fans can get more COD! Halo, Gears and Forza! Woot that's a 'win'. Yay Gamepass FTW

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 716d ago
CrashMania716d ago

Can't wait to see the usual try spin and play this down. So much for the heroic MS and Phil saving these studios eh.

Eonjay716d ago

By the end of the day IGN will be talking about how this is right for the industry. Don't worry, Microsoft's PR is making the call now.

RpgSama716d ago

Tango did NOT deserve to be closed down, they have not released a single bad game, and I'm sure Arkhane failed just because they were both rushed and pressured into making a GaaS game they had no experience in doing and no support to get it completed out of the gate.

PrinceOfAnger716d ago

Not a big deal only hi fi rush was good

Sony has closed
Manchester studio
Japan studio
Pixel opus
London studio
Ready At Dawn ...

RupeeHoarder716d ago

The difference being Sony has a large group of other studios that have done something positive. Microsoft just closed the studio to the only good game they released in the past year (Hi-Fi Rush).

CrashMania716d ago

They all suck as well of course. But MS spent 10s of billions on these publishers for mass consolidation, every made a song and dance about how MS would save them, using their endless Windows, 365 and Azure money to keep them open forever and how Phil was some hero.

Nothing is safe unless it makes money, even for MS.

716d ago
Einhander1972716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Wow how far back do you want to go back.

Lionhead Studios
Aces Game Studio
BigPark
Carbonated Game
Digital Anvil
Ensemble Studios
FASA Studio
Good Science Studio
Hired Gun
Microsoft Studios Japan
Microsoft Studios Victoria
Team Dakota
Xbox Entertainment Studios
Xbox Live Productions
Lift London
Access Software
Salt Lake Games Studio
Twisted Pixel Games
WingNut Interactive

And more before this, this was just their cuts during xbone era that Phil cut while he was at the head.

And some of those PlayStation studios were merged not closed, most of the UK studios were folded into each other.

Japan Studio was renamed to Asobi not closed, aAsobi was an internal team of Japan Studio the "closure" the press misinformed people about was more or less a name change, the studio is in the same building and when the change happened less than 5 people mostly leadership positions chose to leave the studio to form Bokeh Studio, which still works closely with Sony.

And even if your deflection stood on it's own, Microsoft spent 3 Billion 3 years ago almost to the date to buy Zenimax and has already closed 2 of it's biggest studios and decimated Zenimax's support studio structure.

It's no wonder Todd Howard was talking about "more frequent releases" and letting other studios make their IP's games. The days of big budget huge Bethesda games is over...

In fact sadly Microsoft has ushered in the end of big budget gaming as we know it with their obviously unsustainable subscription industry change.

And I feel fully confident that this isn't the end of studio closures from these recently purchased studios.

Abnor_Mal716d ago

Ready At Dawn was never a Sony owned studio, and only made a few smaller God of War games and a Jax and Daxter spin off, and of course The Order1866.

They are currently owned by OcUlus Studios.

MrDead716d ago

How many times has MS fired Bethesda staff since they purchased it? I think it's been three rounds so far

BehindTheRows716d ago

Deflection is the finest form of delusion.

shinoff2183716d ago

London studio what have they made recently. Really the worst one was Japan studio. That sucked.

In reality though your deflecting. The fact of the matter is Ms just closed the studio that made their highest rated game in years. That's insane.

Hofstaderman716d ago

Also many of those staff were absorbed into other studios.

VariantAEC716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

Ready At Dawn was never a PS first party studio.
Manchester was closed and it was proposed that London should be closed, but their website is still up with no news about it being closed on their official site anywhere. So it's possible that the proposed closure just did not happen to get fufilled. Meaning London Studio *MIGHT* still be open running lean.

Edit: Japan Studio was closed with some staff making up the new Asobi Team Studio who's first title was the PS5 pack-in game "Astro's Playroom." Pixel Opus was closed and not replaced or spun-off their only games were Entwined and Concrete Genie they also helped publish Journey according to Wikipedia.

Chevalier716d ago

Man you got crap info

Sony never owned Ready at Dawn. It's now owned by Oculus.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/...

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 716d ago
Tacoboto716d ago

Phil needs to step down. What kind of usual spin do you want?

More and more people lose jobs but the people at the top stay the same. Hardware sales tank despite billions and billions spent. The math is plain and simple.

Sonic1881716d ago (Edited 716d ago )

I'm still trying to figure out what was the real reason to acquire Bethesda for millions or Billions of dollars if you're closing down studios 🤔 What were their true intentions 🤔 I mean do Microsoft really want to be a third-party publisher? It sounds like they're confused.with their future in gaming

VariantAEC716d ago

@Sonic1881
To rape each studio for their sweet succulent ultra-valuable IP. This is Microsoft's favorite past-time.

Show all comments (217)
30°

Gang of Dragon Studio Reportedly Removes YouTube Channel Amid Funding Uncertainty

Nagoshi Studio’s YouTube channel with the Gang of Dragon trailers appears to have been removed following reports that NetEase will stop funding.

Read Full Story >>
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250°

We Are Xbox

Dear team,

Xbox has always been different.

We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.

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Itveds14h ago

re-evaluating exclusivity 💀

PS players will need to go back to pretending to dislike Xbox games

pwnmaster300014h ago(Edited 14h ago)

Or meaning since it’s doing so good they might just do everything day 1.

They didnt say re-evaluating their multiplatform approach.
🤣🤣🤣 Xbox is so dead. I know you scared🤣🫵ӿ 97;

14h ago
Eonjay10h ago

Even when the topic is strictly Xbox he can't stop talking about PlayStation. Xbox has basically become the hate of PlayStation... and not much else.

peppeaccardo3h ago

This whole mess is the result of bad decisions and strategy from those who have "the vision" inside the company.

pwnmaster300014h ago

Hurt over video games 🤣🤣

Lmao we all grew and got jobs but apparently you stayed home broke 🤣🤣.
Man I love loyal dogs like you. MS kicked Spit and slapped you around but you still come back on all 4s.

Good little boy 🤣🤣

13h ago
GhostScholar12h ago

My only question is what games are PlayStation gamers gonna play now? They don’t really come out with new games anymore. I’m looking forward to wolverine, but after that then what?

-Foxtrot13h ago

Lmao

There’s no way after everything it’s going back, the damage is done

What you are seeing now is the new management telling what the core fanbase (aka…you) want to hear so they are pumped full of hope and are more likely to invest in the next Xbox console

When Phil took over after the awful Xbox One reveal he did the same thing, he told people what they wanted to hear for damage control.

It’s crazy people are getting suckered into this again.

GhostScholar12h ago

I mean I always buy both systems, so none of this affects me.

darthv725h ago

FWIW..... wasn't the new management speaking to the other staff.... not so much us (regular folk)?

CrashMania13h ago

And you'll now go back to again thinking exclusives suddenly matter, that multiplatform is no longer the future, or that revenue from multiplatforms doesn't matter, like all you flop flopping xbox grifters lol.

The whole post just sounds like the previous phil corpo slop talk to me, whole thing reads like a nothing burger lol.

Jin_Sakai12h ago

“re-evaluating exclusivity”

She also said this.

“The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward.”

Profchaos9h ago

I don't know if they have a model anymore it's flipped so many times since the xbox one reveal

TriniOutsider11h ago

It must be miserable being someone like you.

Aloymetal11h ago

There's a bunch just like him but that's what happens when some rely on dreams, hope and wishful thinking. lol

isarai_lee11h ago

"pretending"? Bro gears hasnt broke 1mil on ps5, and starfield hasn't passed 200k, Hellblade 2 was even stated to be a financial disappointment in sales on its own console, let alone ps5. Im not saying people don't like them, but they certainly aren't setting the community on fire, Forza may be different tho

Neonridr10h ago

Forza broke 5 million on PlayStation. So yes. And there's a new one coming soon.

badz1492h ago

if only they make a real physical version of those games, especially Gears, it would have sold more on PS5

Aloymetal11h ago

Xbawx is ''re-evaluating exclusivity''... Translation: After throwing all sort of crap to the wall to see if something sticks but clearly nothing worked, we, including our lord ''in charge'' Phil came to the conclusion that exclusives indeed do matter so please forget if we ever said otherwise.
Yup, I feel it in my gut, next gen belongs to xbox, PS6 is cooked...

11h ago
1Victor9h ago

Someone can’t sleep after those 5 million forza games PURCHASED by PlayStation owners🤣 🧌 💥

9h ago
Extermin8or3_8h ago

Well with the decreased price of gamespass even with cod off it there is no way it is profitable given the cost of making their 1st party games (not if you actually include that cost in gamespass costs which they typically dont but should) they will just make a loss without the sales on

Xx_Pistol_xX6h ago

They don't hate the games. They hate the box.

DazaMc4h ago

Forza just sold five million copies on PS5, they have a taste for it now.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 2h ago
Outside_ofthe_Box14h ago(Edited 13h ago)

If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it. They would be turning down immediate money for something that will potentially workout in the long term.

Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box. A lot of their base has moved to PC or jumped to PS. So will be a long road to get back on track.

We have been saying this from day one exclusives are a must if you are going to be selling hardware look at Nintendo and Sony before Jim Ryan. That's the proven formula. You had some that were deluded and blinded by loyalty accepting that multiplat was the future and that MS was merely getting ahead of where the industry was headed, but at least they can finally see the light and agree with what everyone has been saying for a decade+

pwnmaster300013h ago

True, blame it on the rabid fanboys. MS can do no wrong and spinner this multiplatform move. While the actual fans moved on.

I feel like with the new Xbox coming they are hoping to bring back those old fans and then if it goes well. Bring back exclusives.

If the new console is performing like series x and one. Naw they staying multiplatform.

darthv725h ago

Actual fans dont move on... they can add to their hobby while waiting for the next new release. If you believe what you typed then I guess PS fans moved on too.... you know, since its been a Sahara for 1st party games this gen.

Itveds13h ago

Gonna be a funny world where Xbox games are exclusive and Sony games are not lol

Outside_ofthe_Box11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Funny world where Sony is pro consumer and Xbox is not? At least according to what you loyalists have been saying all this time 🤭

VenomUK11h ago

@itveds For how many years have you been doing this sad stuff? For how many years have you been creating fake accounts to troll? For how many years have you always been cl vnn

fr0sty9h ago

Pathetic incels with nothing better to do than argue over a box... Because they don't have any good games to play on theirs, obviously. If your precious box is so special, why don't you shut the fuck up and go play it?

Elda3h ago

Sony exclusives will always be better than anything XB puts out.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3h ago
CrashMania13h ago

I think it's too late, xbox sales were diving even before ABK, they got even worse since then even long before the full multiplatform push. I'd be surprised if they even went back to timed exclusivity at this point, Helix is basically a PC and is going to be expensive, they already struggle to sell cheaper xbox consoles, it will be low volume and they'll have a very small 'console' base to sell to, which has already been conditioned to just play via gamepass anyway.

Neonridr10h ago

I don't see them removing PC from the equation. Considering MS has a heavy enough investment in the PC market, it would be foolish to abandon them. I could see them taking away games from PlayStation or ensuring they are timed exclusives at the very least. Say what you will but if Call of Duty ends up becoming a timed exclusive to Xbox machines, that would hurt PlayStation, don't pretend like those games don't sell millions.

Outside_ofthe_Box7h ago

They would lose out on a lot of CoD sales tho. Doesn't PS make up most of the sales?

Pyrofire958h ago

Their lifeline of solely the Xbox consoles is dry. Good-Great games on a 1st party scale can't be made at a loss so willingly - sent to the Xbox to only sell limited copies.
They invested billions scooping up studios and need to start making returns.
Sucks that nearly every company is publicly traded and have to be so shareholder biased but that's how it is.
Their words are strong but it'll take time to see what their actions accomplish. Lowering the cost of Game Pass and taking CoD off of it was a good clear start.

darthv725h ago

More like, allot of their base just played game pass. So now they need to encourage them to start buying again.

--Onilink--2h ago

What exactly is the long term goal with exclusives though?

Because for the most part, the hardware side of things has never been the most profitable, even sometimes being subsidized for a period before breaking even. And that’s before the hardware component nightmare we currently live in.

The whole point of exclusives was to get more people to buy your console in order to have a bigger install base, which meant even bigger software sales.

But if their ports to PS5 are selling (for the most part it seems) quite well, then other than negating the cut Sony takes there, unless you are REALLY increasing your software sales on your own console, it probably doesn’t make that much of a difference?

Honestly I don’t even understand Sony’s decision to scale back on it for PC unless they weren’t even recouping the port expenses. They released ports when the hardware sales never really dropped, and now that all consoles will undoubtedly take a noticeable drop in sales due to the ridiculous prices, that’s when they decide they don’t want to sell to a larger install base to more easily recoup dev costs… it’s just weird

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2h ago
maximusprime_13h ago

Despite all of that, it's clear that Microsoft's Xbox division is broken beyond repair.

12h ago
BeHunted11h ago

PlayStation is currently draining money on flop after flop. It's Sony that needs to re-evaluate their strategy

11h ago
CrashMania8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Wonder how much money was lost on perfect dark, hellbalde 2, 300 million lost revenue
by putting cod on gamepass. The recent Jason schrier news that Xbox has cancelled dozens of projects, spent 70 billion just to see Xbox sales further collapse and gamepass see little growth.

The fact is this has been PlayStation's most profitable generation and they are making loads of money and selling plenty of consoles and games. While MS won't give you any sales figures or profit numbers for Xbox, says it all really.

shadowT13h ago

"Our presence on PC isn’t strong enough."

Fishy Fingers12h ago

It isnt. But I dont think they mean in 'games', rather, footprint.

They own the OS but as far as gaming is concerned, Steam dominate. I imagine the VAST majority of people who use the Xbox app/launcher are PC gamepass subs. No ones buying their 3rd party PC games through Xbox PC.

badz1492h ago

and many gamers prefer SteamOS for gaming over Windows too. If only Valve would be more uncompromising to the anti-cheat makers that locked out non-windows players, more pc gamers would have moved onto SteamOS by now and not looking back to Windows. overall, Win11 is a terrible, bloated, unoptimized OS which is not what many people want

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40°

Japanese Entertainment Giant Toei Announces Toei Games; Will Reveal First Game This Week

The famous Japanese entertainment company Toei Company is debuting in the gaming industry with the new brand Toei Games.

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simulationdaily.com
jznrpg1d 6h ago

The more games that are made the better. It’s nice to hear they won’t use existing IP to start and are making new IP from scratch. I hope they make some great games. Most if not all of their anime already have games made from other studios so it makes sense to try something new. Good luck