Microsoft to close down Hi-Fi Rush developer, Tango Gameworks, and many others

Microsoft has decided to close down several development studios as part of a "reprioritization of titles and resources." It emailed all the affected studios, mentioning what would happen to them and how their current/previous projects would be affected.

Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, sent the email. In it, he announced the closure of some studios and mentioned that some teams would only be moved to other Studios.

The decision doesn't seem to be about how good or bad they were doing, as two of the closing studios are Arkane Austin, who made Redfall, and Tango Gameworks, who made Hi-Fi Rush, both in opposite ends of success.

Which studios were the ones affected?

The affected studios are Arkane Austin, half of Arkane Studios and responsible for games like Prey and Redfall; Alpha Dog Studios, who made Mighty Doom, a mobile top-down Doom game; Tango Gameworks, responsible for The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo, and more recently, Hi-Fi Rush, all highly praised games; and lastly, Roundhouse Games, formerly Human Head Studios, Roundhouse was credited with contributing to Redfall.

What will happen after each studio closes?

Arkane Studios has confirmed that the Redfall servers will remain online. Those who purchased the Hero DLC will receive compensation, though it sounds like it won't be a refund. Some members will be moved to a different studio, but Arkane Austin will close.

Tango Gameworks will close; they have confirmed that Hi-Fi Rush and their other games will remain available.

Alpha Dog Studios will close, and their game, Mighty Doom, will cease on August 7th, 2024; as of now, all in-game purchases have been disabled.

Roundhouse Games is not outright stated to close, but according to the email shared by IGN, it will be absorbed by Zenimax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online.

It seems that as part of this "reprioritization," Microsoft has decided to get rid of the studios that were not as profitable as the other big studios, as they are closing Arkane Austin, the studio that developed Redfall, Alpha Dog Studios, the ones that made a Doom mobile game, that, while some might've praised it, most disapproved of its difficulty being high to encourage microtransactions, Tango Gameworks, which, while Hi-Fi Rush was considered a success, many believed that it could've done better if it weren't a Game Pass release or if it weren't a surprise release, and Roundhouse Games that wasn't credited in much, other than Redfall, so they instead were sent to ZeniMax Online Studios.