ZeniMax Executive Comments on Studio Closures: "On the Brink of Collapse"

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, a ZeniMax executive revealed that the closure of four Xbox studios was primarily due to insufficient staffing and support. During a town hall meeting, Jill Braff, the head of ZeniMax, expressed that supporting the studios globally had become challenging due to a lean central team and multiple ongoing projects. Braff stated, "I think we were about to topple over." Additionally, Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty allegedly mentioned that the decision to close the studios was made to allocate resources more efficiently. Bloomberg also reported that Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin were in the process of pitching new projects, including a potential sequel to Hi-Fi Rush and a new single-player immersive sim game, which would have required additional staff. This was reportedly a contributing factor to the closures. GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Microsoft for a statement.