After the closures of four Xbox studios, Thomas Mahler commented on the situation, explaining why his studio will not go to big publishers.
What is the situation at Xbox? Industry insider Jason Schreier announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Xbox is closing a total of four developer studios that belong to Bethesda. This information about the studio closures comes from an email from Matt Booty, the Head of Xbox Game Studios, to the staff of the studios.
- Arkane Austin – Studio will be closed, some employees will transition to other Bethesda teams
- Tango Gameworks – Studio will be closed
- Alpha Dog Studios – Studio will be closed
- Roundhouse Games – Team will move to ZeniMax Online Studios (The Elder Scrolls Online)
The news about the closures hasn’t gone unheard in the gaming industry. The head of a Vienna-based developer studio also commented.
Here you can see the trailer for Ori and the Blind Forest:
This is why the Vienna studio does not want to be acquired
How does the head of Ori react? The head of Moon Studios, the creators of Ori, recently commented in a short post on X (formerly Twitter) about the whole situation. He refers to the aforementioned post by Schreier and cites the entire situation as the reason why his studio is not going to a big publisher.
“To everyone who has been bothering me for years about why we do not allow Moon Studios to be acquired by a big publisher … This is why,” Mahler begins his post.
He explains that he has lived through the 90s and witnessed what happens when smaller studios are acquired by EA. With the words “Never again” and crying, laughing emojis, he ends his post.
In the comments under his post, many users express their frustration and disappointment over the closures. “I’m starting to believe that maybe Xbox and PlayStation are not the future of gaming,” one user voices his opinion in a comment.
Former Blizzard CEO defends Phil Spencer
Are there more reactions? Yes. Among others, former Blizzard CEO Mike Ybarra also spoke out in a post on X (formerly Twitter). In this, he explains that he can understand the anger and confusion 100% and that he feels sorry for the affected teams. He also makes it clear that he did not agree with all of Xbox’s decisions.
On the other hand, he also defends Phil Spencer following these announcements. He claims to know him personally and is sure that it hurts him just as much as anyone else.
“I think we all encounter situations that are difficult and unexpected. It is part of the job, just as accountability for the outcome is. But he is a good person and cares a lot about the creative process and the developers,” Ybarra explains in his post. Only in January, Ybarra decided to leave Blizzard: The president of Blizzard unexpectedly leaves – Mike Ybarra is gone
