Bethesda Softworks to close multiple studios

Bethesda Softworks, and its parent company Micosoft, have announced plans to close Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios.

In an internal letter to the affected teams, Microsoft Gaming president of game content and studios Matt Booty said that "these changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games. To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us."

Arkane Austin will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arkane Austin is best known for 2017 Prey, but their most recent game Redfall was not a success and future content plans for this title have been scrapped. This closure does not affect Arkane Lyon, who are known for the Dishonored franchise, Deathloop, and currently working on Marvel's Blade.

Tango Gameworks, based in Tokyo, Japan, will also close. The studio was opened in 2010 and developed The Evil Within and its sequel, GhostWire: Tokyo, and most recently Hi-Fi Rush.

Alpha Dog Studios was best known for Mighty DOOM, which will be sunset on August 7. Members of Roundhouse Games will be joining ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS).

Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion in cash back in 2020.

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