cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/18941119
Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda
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MSFT has a $3T market cap and $60B of free cash flow each year, so I doubt they’re hurting for money. This is how “growth at all costs” incentivizes myopic decision-making and doesn’t really help foster an environment where studios are willing to take creative risks. Even when they succeed (a la Hi-Fi Rush) they’re on the perpetual chopping block.
“The executives and Board are short on caviar and fois* gois. We can’t have that when some of those… people still have homes or cars, and can do without more actual meals.”
*Flies groi is strictly for us commoners.
Also, I typed it correct twice and twice autocorrect hard failed as I hit send or between send and posting. So AI that consumes too many resources also stinks.
Hi-fi rush was very successful as far as I know, weird to close that.
Not strange at all. Even though it was a success, it wasn’t a cash cow and only had limited ability to be milked though micro transactions and other revenue opportunities.
When the axe comes, all that matters is the numbers in the balance sheet. Creativity, enjoyment and artistic value be damned.
I mean, I won’t agree with whatever reason they have anyways, but it feels like they could have followed that up with a second part and that could have been their cash cow (due to lower development cost and higher attention from journalists).
Feels to me like they’re optimizing for short-term shareholder payouts, due to the two major flops they had last year, and sacrificing long-term profitability for it.
Brings me back to when EA was buying up companies just to milk them until there’s nothing left to give and then close the studios. It’s okay though. It’s not like these companies had employees with bills to pay, livelihoods, families, bills again, etc. it’s not like there are actually people behind the games we play that are struggling just as much as we are. That would be madness!
it’s not like there were awesome game series which came to exist as a passion projects that are being discontinued because people don’t like the latest titles because they were lazy cash crabs…
Fuck microsoft
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It’s only been 3 years since Microsoft acquired Bethesda, but I do wonder, if Bethesda on their own would have similarly lost their fucking minds during the pandemic, to build up developer capacity which would obviously not be needed forever.
