Dinga Bakaba, the head of Arkane Lyon, has pulled no punches in his criticism of Microsoft’s decision to close a number of Bethesda-owned studios today, with Arkane Austin among the casualties.
Here’s what he had to say in a post on Twitter:
This is absolutely terrible/ Permission to be human: to any executive reading this, friendly reminder that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry, and your business as a corporation is to take care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you.
Don’t throw us into gold fever gambits, don’t use us as strawmen for miscalculations/blind spots, don’t make our work environments darwinist jungles. You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough. We know you can, we seen it before.
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For now, great teams are sunsetting before our eyes again, and it’s a fucking gut stab. Lyon is safe, but please be tactful and discerning about all this, and respect affected folks’ voice and leave it room to be heard, it’s their story to tell, their feelings to express.
Microsoft’s Matt Booty said in an email to staff that Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Games would be shuttered, while another studio would be absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios. While some people would be moved to other teams, but made it clear layoffs would also be happening due to the cuts.
[Source – Dinga Bakaba on Twitter]