Arkane Austin was reportedly pitching an immersive sim before closure

Hi-Fi Rush is set for its final patch later today, May 15, amid the closure of its developer Tango Gameworks.

Firaxis veterans Jake Solomon and Will Miller have formed Midsummer Studios.

A new report suggests that Arkane Austin wanted to make a new single-player game, such as a Dishonored sequel, before the studio was closed.

“I like the look of Prey but I haven’t picked it up yet,” sounds the lament of the perma-wastrel, content to watch life’s most precious resource tick away then dissolve into the ether, never to return. “Looks good but it’s still 25 quid on Steam” sounds the cry of the fool unaware that all their possessions are but substanceless adornments to a life hollow for not having played, arguably, the only good video game ever made. “I didn’t like Prey anyway,” blowfish-ly puffs the deeply incorrect naysayer, unaware that they will never be invited to any of my birthday parties. Well, no excuses now*. Fanatical are doing a thing where you can buy FPS imsim Prey and two others from a respectable selection for a fiver.

Xbox president Sarah Bond has spoken more about the company’s decision to close four Bethesda studios earlier this week.

After Microsoft unexpectedly announced it closed Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, some wondered whether the previously announced physical version of the game would ever see the light of day. But don't worry — despite Tango Gameworks' closure, Limited Run Games is still planning to release a physical edition of the studio's final project.

It seems Redfall was gearing up to release a big update for May 2024 before Arkane Austin was suddenly shuttered by Xbox. Redfall got off to a very rough start when it first launched last year. The game released to overwhelmingly negative reviews and was quickly abandoned. Despite this, there were still plans to release Redfall DLC characters and updates to improve the experience.

Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks were reportedly in the process of pitching sequels to Dishonored and Hi-Fi Rush before Xbox’s sudden closure of their studios on Tuesday. This news comes after learning more details surrounding the shutdown of three ZeniMax Media subsidiary studios, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks prominently among them.

Like us, you’re probably still reeling from Tuesday’s news that Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango and Prey’s Arkane Austin are getting shuttered by Microsoft. According to Bloomberg, these closures were just a part of a “widespread cost-cutting initiative” that’s still underway. All signs point towards more cuts to come, basically. ZeniMax studios seem to be the main target.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Studios will be absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online. This follows nearly 1,900 layoffs earlier in the year, largely from Microsoft’s newly-acquired Activision Blizzard teams. Unfortunately, it seems this isn’t the end of the pain.

Xbox rocked the games industry earlier this week by closing down Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, two developers responsible for beloved titles such as The Evil Within series, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the Prey reboot. Pretty much everyone was surprised by the announcement, including the people at Tango and Arkane Austin themselves, who were reportedly in the middle of pitching new projects to Xbox before being shut down.

Tang Gameworks was in the process of pitching a Hi-Fi Rush sequel and wanted to hire additional staff before its sudden closure, according to a new Bloomberg report.