It’s becoming ever apparent that the gaming industry is in a state of chaos. Even those who have succeeded in it are facing all sorts of trials, and even with certain big successes, they don’t last long-term outside of a few instances. That’s why many are calling out those at the top of certain companies for making bad decisions and creating a culture of fear and uncertainty that makes everyone wonder who will be next on the chopping block. For the creator of Arkane Austin, which was shut down by Microsoft earlier in 2024, that feeling is completely justified, especially given the circumstances of the shutdown.
In a chat with PCGamer, Raphael Colantonio, who is now the head of WolfEye Studios, called out Microsoft for what they did and said it was nothing more than a financial move:
“I think if you look a little bit, it’s obvious that Arkane Austin was a very special group of people that have made some cool things and that could pull it off again. I think it was a decision that just came down to, ‘We need to cut something.’ Was it to please the investors, the stock market? They’re playing a different game.”
That might seem harsh at first, but it does fit when you remember the other key shutdown of Tango Gameworks, who made a hit game that apparently “wasn’t enough to save it,” and it had to be saved in a different way. Furthermore, Microsoft spent a lot of money buying Activision Blizzard and laid off over 2000 people within the company under the guise of “redundancy.” Colantonio felt that when it comes to those at the top, those who work under them don’t always understand what’s happening:
“The rules that they play, we might not understand them. It’s a different thing. It’s hard to know why they did what they did. The only thing that I stand by is saying that the specific choice of killing Arkane Austin, that was not a good decision.”
We’re sure that Microsoft, and even Arkane’s immediate overlord in Bethesda, would say that it was due to the failure of Redfall, the doomed vampire shooter that was incredibly broken at launch, that led to the studio shutting down. However, the team never wanted to make that game, and it was forced upon them. When Microsoft bought Bethesda, the Austin team hoped that it would lead to the game being changed, but it wasn’t. Thus, blaming the Arkane team for all of it would be foolish and unfair.
Then again, what’s happening to so many in the industry is unfair, even while those at the top do everything they can to line their own pockets.
