It is a delicate moment for the world Xbox after Microsoft closed four studios including Tango Gameworks And Arkane Austinand from a new report by IGN USA further details emerge which, if actually concrete, could lead to important changes in the management of Xbox Game Studios.
In fact, according to what was reported by the well-known American newspaper, the latest decisions regarding Xbox would have been taken by Microsoft management and not by the gaming division led by Phil Spencer. In addition, after the acquisitions made in recent years, Xbox Game Studios would be grown out of all proportion becoming increasingly difficult to manage. IGN USA got in touch with two former long-term Microsoft employees who remained anonymous, gathering background information and testimonies on the current state of the gaming division of the Redmond giant, with both sources expressing concern about the situation.
“I’ve had long conversations with some Xbox founders and we’ve basically always come to the same conclusion: it’s no longer Xbox, it’s Microsoft Gaming“, says one of the two sources consulted by IGN. The other former employee instead declares that Xbox Game Studios “they have become too big, you actually have to manage three huge companies and among other things Microsoft still hasn’t finished the integration with Bethesda. And Activision is like three times bigger than Xbox. Xbox 360 launched with a division of a few hundred people, but now I hear there are almost 30,000 people“.
Precisely the enormous growth of Xbox would be the reason why Microsoft senior executives are intervening with ever more frequency in the affairs of Xbox Game Studios, to the point of drastic decisions such as the closure of the studios “they’re probably not even made by Phil Spencer, but it all starts from CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood, and it seems that these interferences started after the acquisition of Activision“. Among the reasons that could have pushed the top executives to intervene directly more frequently there would also be the delicate historical moment that is going through Xbox: “Console sales are dropping, we’re in the midst of a post-Covid recession, Xbox Game Pass is slowing down. The acquisitions were more expensive and took much longer than imagined, and the fight against the FTC probably took away time that could have been dedicated to the studios and their employees“, explain the sources.
“I’m 100% sure that the latest decisions all came from Microsoft management“, continues one of the former employees interviewed by IGN, who adds: “Xbox used to be a huge profit center and that’s why Nadella approved the huge acquisitions, but now the gaming industry is slowing down while Microsoft stock is soaring, and there’s no way Nadella is going to let Xbox drag it down“.
If what emerged from the IGN USA report is true, it becomes even more interesting to find out what will happen in the next one Xbox Showcase set for June 9, 2024: Phil Spencer will hold an important interview after the event, organized by IGN and from which very interesting details on the present and future of Xbox could emerge.
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