Prey, Arkane Austin’s masterpiece, still deserves your attention

Redfall is getting one final update after all.

Xbox fans, and some of their employees, were blindsided earlier this month when Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including the “gut stab” closure of Arkane Austin, developer of the acclaimed Prey and the more troubled Redfall. Following the announcement Arkane Austin was shutting up shop, it was reported that the team had been working on additional updates for Redfall, including one that would deliver a long-promised offline mode. Unfortunately, at the time, it seemed unlikely any of these promised updates would come to fruition.

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.

Last December, Ubisoft announced it was delisting its MMO racing game The Crew from all digital storefronts but shutting down the servers on March 31, 2024. Weeks after the servers were slated to shut down, Ubisoft began notifying players who owned a copy of The Crew that it was removing it from their Ubisoft accounts.

“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.

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.

A Fallout 76 player may have found a rather creative way to show their disapproval for Xbox closing down Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin.

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.

Arkane Austin is officially no more, and Studio Director Harvey Smith, who has worked at Arkane for over sixteen years, shared all his emotions in a long and heartfelt thread on Twitter/X. Over the course of his 30-plus-year-long career in the industry, Smith was a lead designer at Ion Storm on Deus Ex, a director on Deus Ex: Invisible War, and a designer on Thief: Deadly Shadows. After a brief stint at Midway, he joined Arkane to be a creative director, designer, and writer on the first Dishonored.

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.

Arkane Austin was reportedly pitching an immersive sim title before its closure, it’s claimed.

Google released the Pixel Tablet in 2023 as the company’s first Android tablet in years, but the high price and limited features made it a hard sell. Google is now re-launching the Pixel Tablet with some changes and a lower price tag.