Obsidian’s developers have shared some interesting sentiments following the closure of Tango Gameworks.
To be brief, last month, Microsoft revealed that Zenimax was set to close four of their studios due to consolidation. That included Tango Gameworks, but also Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games. And this followed layoffs in Activision and Blizzard following their acquisition by Microsoft last year.
That adds up the ugly tally of layoffs from Microsoft, which put a real damper on what had been a very well received Xbox Games Showcase that came weeks later. Fans are particularly fixated on Tango Gameworks, as the creators of the popular and award winning Hi-Fi Rush.
However, we would like to remind our readers that developers of less popular, even poorly received games, deserve attention when they lose their jobs too. And of course, this was an industry wide phenomenon, that may also not be over yet.
Surprisingly, Obsidian was asked about Tango Gameworks’ closure while they were busy promoting their next project, the now more visually spectacular Avowed. To their credit, game director Carrie Patel and art director Matt Hansen did not hesitate to share their sentiments to Eurogamer.
Patel shared some sad, but also confident, sentiments. She said:
“As a developer – and as a player – it’s always sad and it always sucks to see studios close and devs lose their jobs… I really hope all those people land on their feet, because I know our indusutry is better with them in it.
As for me and how I look at things, I guess first and foremost: I don’t believe in living in fear. Especially if you need to be invested in the creative process – you have to be invested in what you’re making, and you have to believe in it. And I do feel a strong sense of security in being part of Obsidian and, you know, being a part of a studio that was a successful independent developer for almost 15, 20 years.”
Hansen then chimed in with some sobering thoughts:
“These are very complex decisions with so much nuance behind what happens, because they’re challenging decisions that need to be made at times, and so I don’t find that creatively stifling at all. I feel deeply supported, both internally on the dev side and with fans, but also from Microsoft.” The situation was “unfortunate”, he added, “but at the same time, I’m not afraid.”
Patel came back in to tie it up to Obsidian’s own history:
“As Matt said, we’ve been incredible well supported by Microsoft. We’ve also had Feargus Urquhart at the helm of the studio since its inception. And before that, when it was Black Isle Studios. He knows games, he loves games, and he’s been incredibly successful at hauling Obsidian through all of its various iterations. And again, I do want to emphasise that Microsoft leadership and Xbox leadership have also been incredible supportive of what we do, how we make games, and [are] very communicative with us as well.”
It’s all very interesting to hear when you know of Obsidian’s history. The studio has gone through many ups and downs, and have gone through cycles where they hired and fired to scale up and down appropriately. In fact, almost a decade ago, a still independent Obsidian was making a game for Xbox called Stormlands. When Microsoft cancelled the project, Feargus had to fire people in the studio too.
So it may surprise you to know that Obsidian turned out to be optimistic about Microsoft’s acquisition of them, and they had since renewed their relationship with Feargus. But in a professional setting, people don’t do business and find success by bearing grudges and having a general distrust of everyone around you. Avowed is turning out to be the game that could make Obsidian a major player in Xbox, and in the industry as a whole as well.
