Is Microsoft TRYING to Ruin Xbox?

So Microsoft (or Xbox) decided to shut down four Bethesda studios. People are not happy.

Studios that made games like Hi Fi rush are now dust in the wind and I want answers.

But I won’t get them.

So I’ll just guess.

I want to talk about the state of Xbox, what it might mean for the future, and where I think this is all heading.

Honestly, probably to the PlayStation.

[sator_project]

Xbox used to get by as a rounding error on the balance sheet. But after spending 70 billion, they now have Microsoft's attention.

[misterzygarde]

Microsoft could’ve had the decency to sell off Tango Gameworks or let them become independent and let them take Hi-Fi Rush with them but no, it’s their IP to now sit on.

Like they could’ve at least had Tango bring the game to Switch to see if they were worth keeping.

[realJeffDunham]

You could ask the same question about Windows. So many anti-consumer decisions since Windows 8.

[Del_S]

>Nerf your console by having a downgraded version on day one meaning developers will inevitably drop support for it in 4-5 years
>Release mediocre entries to your big brands
>Buy two big third party groups at significant cost and legal scrutiny
>Put some games on gamepass day one rather than letting them actually sell copies
>Still somehow be making profits
>Close teams that barely had a chance to do anything, had their hands tied by your demands, or gave you a hit game, because ???? stage of plan has been reached having collected underpants

Bravo, Phil, you're the best CEO Sony and Nintendo could hope for!

[songohan]

The PR Fallout from all of this is next level.

[floatingkites]

Buying Activision was a really bad decision because now Microsoft doesn't just consider Xbox to be a fun little side project anymore.

Its now something that needs to have a return on investment. So now Microsoft will be more hands on and we will be suffering as a result.

[jesusojeda]

To be honest, a lot of the people in charge of big companies are just friends or family of the right people or studied at the right school (expensive school, so they were rather rich to begin with). So I don't think it wouldn't be a stretch to say that you- youtubeman, could be smarter than them. Heck, a good number of the average joes here probably are.

[sergioccs]

This smells like somebody high up in Microsoft saw the hype from the fallout tv show, asked why the fuck the next game is coming out in 12 years and procceded to close any studio that was not making something with money

[Zeboki]

The saddest part is that it just affirms that Playstation's only competition is Nintendo & they don't even care. No competition screws over customers.

[nicolasjamo]

My guess is that to "keep up" with the increasing cost of making bigger games, Microsoft is pulling resources from smaller devs and throwing them at big AAA releases.

[lcoyle]

I feel sorry for the Bethesda studios. Arkane Austin made to work on Redfall (failure, and shut), Bethesda made to work on Fallout 76 (failed but good enough IP to keep going), Machine Games made to work on Wolfenstein Young Blood (disaster), Id made to put online into Doom (failed)...

But Tango was the real tragedy, evil within 2 was a mixed bag, just like Ghostwire Tokyo, but Hi-Fi Rush was great. Such a shame...

[Rezgate]

Maybe their awful GamePass business plan doesn’t make them any money…

[chrisgurney]

IP Stripping and downsizing devs/artists/creative support seems to be the Media Company Way lately, WB-Discovery, Disney, and now MS

[kahlbutomacfarland]

There is no reason to believe anyone high up in a company is smarter than anyone. Literally not one logical reason.

[MrShivshank]

has any business ever been improved by being publicly traded?
its like once they are public there business is quarterly profits and not what ever their business actually was.

[NeutralGuyDoubleZero]

They're the new embracer group. Buy up competition/IPs, don't invest, solely focus on cutting bottom line to make quarterly costs as low as possible, vault said properties and then wait to sell.

Xbox/Microsoft isn't about games. They're a shareholder company that only prioritizes assets and cost cutting. Players and Developers are just an annoyance getting in the way of making money to them.

[pickledgarf]

I like how Whimsu is just on main channel now lol

[him_That_is_me]

Imagine if they had just kept the business model of making fun games, selling those games, and making a profit on selling those games.

[NarbsTheGreat]

Hi Fi Rush was really something special for me and got me out of a bad place last year, so seeing them go really hurts

[baronvonjo]

I have random interests in various industries that partake all over the globe. I just like watching random Youtube videos on them.

Im beginning to notice literally every industry under the sun is stagnating and getting worse for consumers and the companies are either struggling to generate profit ot they exploiting consumers. But the way companies operated for decades is starting to come to a end. If feels like the environment has just changed to much. Cars, film, streaming, retail, services, food, applainces etc. They are all just stagnating. Also quality is going in the gutter.

I feel like one reason is growth is pretty much capped globally. There arent any substantial new markets like China to invest in.
Most markets have matured and in facts some are facing shrinkage in the coming years and decades. Companies cant show growth to please investors and must add extra costs or raise prices to show extra profits. Also many like video games have just dumb methods and rewards poor CEOs and want short term profit.

Just feels like the system be breaking or something. It had a good run I suppose.