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Compulsion, Arkane, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory are seemingly on the chopping block.
"Hello everyone and welcome back to another GeoTV News today.
Well we're talking about Xbox again.
It's becoming incredibly tiring I would describe it as, talking about Xbox, because it feels like every single day, every single week, there's a moment that's either really exciting or really disappointing and last, you know, last week was the sort of not E3 period or the back end of it and Xbox had just had their game showcase on the Sunday before the week started and it was all, it was all kind of looking up a little bit for Xbox."
"And then, pretty soon after this report or this blog post came out saying that they were going to be undergoing major restructuring, they didn't say how many people were going to be laid off but they just said it was going to be major restructuring, probably, you know, cost cutting, all that stuff."
"Now we're starting to see how this is shaping up.
There's been a few different reports and rumours circulating, again, reports and rumours, but many of the developers who are, all of these reports and rumours, they come from developers reaching out to press and saying we're worried about our jobs or they come from developers actively sort of teasing what's happening in the form of little nods on social media."
"And basically, it looks like there are several major studios at Xbox Game Studios that could either be spun off to be independent, like Toys for Bob, and buy back their independence if they have the capital for it, or simply be shut down.
And the studios in question are Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Arkane, and also Compulsion."
"So anyway, let's dive in and have a look.
So yeah, report Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Arkane could face closure.
There is an initial story about South of Midnight's developer Compulsion that we'll touch on because that came prior."
"So anyway, Microsoft's Xbox division is facing renewed uncertainty as reports claim several of its most acclaimed studios could be at risk.
So yeah, it's not just the South of Midnight team at Compulsion Games that's facing closure.
New reports from Bloomberg suggest that Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Arkane are also at risk of suffering the same fate."
"This is despite the fact that some of them have just announced a new project.
Rumours of cutbacks within the Xbox division have been circulating over the past week.
The reports also suggested that the division is being considered for a spin-off as a separate company, similar to GitHub."
"Official sources also claim that the upcoming cost-cutting measures and changes are massive and that no one is safe.
Neither Microsoft nor any of the teams mentioned have commented on the reports.
Double Fine has kind of commented on this by putting in an emoji of, I don't know how to describe it, sort of like the sweating emoji with the face that looks a little bit strained with a singular drop of water, which pretty much shows that it's in a bit of trouble."
"But anyway, South of Midnight Studio reportedly is also on the chopping block.
The restructuring continues at Xbox and according to new reports there are plans to shut down Compulsion Games, a team behind South of Midnight, Contrast and We Happy Few.
Microsoft has not yet issued an official statement, but negotiations are reportedly underway behind closed doors."
"In total this affects about 100 employees and sadly comes shortly after the studio actively sought new talent for a brand new project.
Xbox boss Sasha Sharma has personally praised Compulsion for their work on South of Midnight among other titles and highlighted how the game is a perfect example of the fantastic experiences Xbox wants to showcase."
"The big things we're thinking about are that we want to make great games, like I just feel like every day there's something wonderful there.
The news comes in the wake of rumours about new sweeping layoffs which some are describing as an impending bloodbath where no studio or team is entirely safe."
"Now there are some here that I look at and I don't get.
I don't understand Ninja Theory for the simple reason that they've literally just announced Senua for 2027 at the Xbox Game Showcase.
So Ninja Theory being on the chopping block makes no sense to me."
"Why you do it now after just announcing a game that is seemingly relatively close to being done?
You'd have to assume that Senua has been in development for a couple of years, like full development for a couple of years now."
"So would you not see the game out, then make a decision on the studio?
So that one doesn't make sense to me.
Arcane has not been particularly efficient for a long while.
A lot of the studios of Arcane were shut down very recently, with the ones that remain including I think it's Arcane Paris, the one that was supposedly doing the Blade game which we haven't seen anything about in about five years."
"So Arcane being at risk, you look at it and you go, don't like it, but they haven't been particularly efficient or productive in a long while.
So I understand why they're on the chopping block.
Compulsion, like, you know, the problem with compulsion or the problem that compulsion will have in fighting for their life is basically, or at least in my eyes, basically that they haven't particularly had a hit in a commercial or a or a or in a critical sense."
"I like South of Midnight for a lot of reasons, but I don't think it's quite the sort of the traffic driver that many of the other Xbox game studios, tentpole franchises are.
And I look at Compulsion and they're a talented team with a good vision.
But again, we're talking about a studio here that makes a proper AAA game."
"It doesn't sell like hotcakes and it's like, okay, critically.
So I can understand why they're also on the chopping block.
I don't like seeing it, but I can also somewhat rationalise it from a business standpoint.
And then there's Double Fine, which Double Fine is a weird one as well, because they're an indie developer."
"I know they're owned by Xbox, but really they're an indie developer in regards to the projects they put out.
It was years ago that we got Psychonauts 2.
And since then we've had, I mean, most recently we had Kiln in April and then Keeper in October.
Neither of those are going to sell well, but that's not the purpose of them."
"They're supposed to be sort of cheaper games that they can pump out, fill the Xbox and Game Pass, actually fill the portfolio out a little bit and yeah, just offer it.
But the Double Fine one doesn't really, I don't get it though, because I think they could do with a little bit of oversight in regards to the projects they make, because I think anyone who, when everyone saw the announcement of Kiln, you kind of look at it and think, I'm not sure this one's going to really hit."
"It just doesn't seem like a game that's particularly going to take off.
So I think, I mean, maybe they were told to make it a life service game.
You just don't know about some of these things.
But I look at it, I think maybe they need a little bit of vision because Psychonauts 2 was a huge hit."
"And then since then we've had, again, Keeper and Kiln and projects that aren't really going to draw in a lot of money.
This is always the problem we're talking about this stuff, because on one hand, you're talking about developers that are popular and they've made great things in the past.
But the other hand, it's still a business."
"And if the business isn't succeeding, changes need to be made.
So, you know, Microsoft has bags and bags and bags of money to throw at whatever it wants to do.
But it only has that much money to throw around because it only bets on successful endeavours.
And so far at the moment, Xbox isn't that."
"I think they're running away. That doesn't make sense.
I think it's a very bloated company across the whole.
There's a lot of companies that make up Xbox Game Studios.
You know, just yesterday we were talking about Gears of War E-Day."
"It costed 400 million to make a Gears of War game.
If I'm seeing all this news now, if I'm at the Coalition, I'm probably a little bit concerned because I don't think Gears of War E-Day is going to be a traffic driver in the way that warrants the 400 million budget.
So the point is that I think decisions need to be made at Xbox to do things a little bit differently."
"I do hope some of these studios get their independence back.
You know, they don't get closed down and that they instead they can go off and do their own things.
That being said. If they do do that, I'm not sure what it ultimately would mean for their future a little bit.
You know, again, Arkane seemingly."
"I don't know what they're doing at the moment because it's unclear what's happening with the Blade game.
If Compulsion went independent, would they be able to sell a game that generated enough revenue to support them developing another game over a three, four, five year period?
I don't know. So there's a lot of question marks here."
"It's a really rough time to be following this stuff.
And, you know, you fear for all the people that are going to be affected by these ruthless changes.
But at the same time, it's a business and I can to a degree, I can rationalise some of these things as absolutely brutal as they can be."
"But again, as we hear more about this, we'll be sure to keep you posted and updated.
I'll be back tomorrow for the next GOTV News of the Week.
All being well, we won't be talking about Xbox.
But judging by the way things have gone as of recent, you just never know."
"Until then, though. Yeah, thank you for joining me.
I'll see you all in the next GOTV News tomorrow."
