On May 7, 2024, Xbox announced that Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Games would close, while Roundhouse Games staff would join ZeniMax Online Studios. The announcement ended development on Redfall, but said the game and its servers would remain online; it also said Hi-Fi Rush would stay available on its existing platforms. Tango’s story changed later that year when Krafton acquired the studio and the Hi-Fi Rush rights.
What Xbox announced
In a staff memo on May 7, 2024, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty outlined three closures and one integration. Microsoft had acquired ZeniMax in 2021; its 2022 fact sheet listed eight game development studios in the group.
| Team | Announced outcome | Game or staff impact stated at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Arkane Austin | Closure | Redfall development would end after its previous update. Xbox said the game and servers would remain online. Some team members would transfer to other Bethesda projects; the memo did not give a total for affected employees. |
| Tango Gameworks | Closure | Xbox said Hi-Fi Rush would remain available on its existing platforms. The announcement did not specify a staff transfer plan. |
| Alpha Dog Games | Closure | Mighty Doom was scheduled to sunset on August 7, 2024. The announcement did not specify a staff transfer plan. |
| Roundhouse Games | Integration, not a closure | Its staff would join ZeniMax Online Studios. No separate game-service change was specified in the memo. |
The memo also said players who had purchased Redfall’s Hero DLC would receive make-good offers. It did not establish a combined job-loss figure, and the transfer of some Arkane Austin employees means the announcement should not be read as saying every person at the affected teams was laid off.
Why did Xbox close Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks?
Booty said the changes were “grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds.” He added that Xbox would look across its business for opportunities “best positioned for success.” Those are the company’s stated reasons; the memo does not provide a studio-by-studio explanation or establish a specific financial cause for each decision. The memo was reported on May 7, 2024.
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Xbox president Sarah Bond later described the moves as an outcome of the company’s commitment to keep the business healthy over the long term. Asked about Tango, she said decisions involve “a whole variety of factors” and there is “no one-size-fits-all” answer for every game or studio. Her comments likewise do not identify a single confirmed cause for Tango’s closure. Bond’s remarks were reported May 10, 2024.
What happened to the games?
Redfall
Xbox said the previous update would be the game’s last and development would stop, while the game and servers would remain online. It also promised make-good offers to people who had purchased the Hero DLC. These were the company’s statements in May 2024; they do not establish the game’s server status or availability in 2026.
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Hi-Fi Rush
At the time of the closure announcement, Xbox said the game would continue to be available on its existing platforms. Game Developer reported that it had reached three million players by May 7, 2024; that is a historical reported figure, not a current audience count. The figure appeared in Game Developer’s May 7, 2024 coverage.
Mighty Doom
Alpha Dog’s mobile game was scheduled to sunset on August 7, 2024. That was the announced service-end date, not a statement about the game’s present availability.
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Tango Gameworks’ story changed after the closure announcement
The May 2024 announcement was not the final chapter for Tango. Krafton announced in August 2024 that it had acquired Tango Gameworks and the rights to Hi-Fi Rush; Microsoft retained the rights to The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. The acquisition came after Xbox had announced Tango’s closure, so the two events should not be conflated. Krafton’s announcement is the primary source for the deal.
The acquisition changed the studio’s post-announcement status, but it does not by itself establish the staffing arrangements or future release plans. The cited announcements do not verify those details.
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What the announcement does—and does not—establish
- Three teams were announced for closure; Roundhouse Games was to be integrated into ZeniMax Online Studios.
- Some Arkane Austin employees were to transfer to other Bethesda projects, but no verified total for jobs lost across these changes is established.
- Xbox gave portfolio prioritization and long-term business health as its rationale. The cited statements do not prove one specific financial explanation for each studio’s selection.
- May 2024 statements about games remaining online or available are not confirmation of their server or storefront status in 2026.
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