Summary
Xboxco-creator Sheamus Blackley shared his opinion on Microsoft’s recently-announced decision to shut down several prominent studios at Zenimax Media. The devastating decision has been met with massive backlash across the industry from both game developers and players, with the “father of theXbox” deciding to chime in on the matter as well.
The last week or so has been a very rough time for the Xbox brand, with confidence in the console manufacturer dropping to all-time lows. It all started when Microsoft first announced that they wereshuttering four Bethesda studios, includingHi-Fi Rushdeveloper Tango Gameworks andRedfallcreator Arcane Austin. Things got even worse when a report from a credible insider suggested that Microsoft was debating raising the price of Xbox Game Pass again and not puttingCall of Dutyon the service day-one. Meanwhile, other rumors swirled around regarding the allegedly troubled development of Xbox exclusivePerfect DarkandHellblade 2potentially getting a PS5 port. It’s safe to say that this wave of bad news has led to a lot of turmoil and doom-and-gloom within the Xbox community, with many losing their faith in the brand. Seamus Blackley, however, does have some insightful thoughts to share regarding this entire debacle.
In a thread of posts on Twitter,Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackleyconveyed his disappointment regarding the mass layoffs and studio closures at Microsoft, expressing sympathy for “all the developers who. . . just lost their jobs and dreams.” Blackley continued, stating that this was all “so scary” and really emphasized how “hard” it was to “make creative things.” He then went on to say that he was well aware of “the stench of money guy decision-making and how it destroys the lives and confidence of creative people,” which he claimed to be the real “tragedy” here. The fallout from the constant loss and mistreatment of “developers who matter” is a lesson that “the game industry keeps forgetting,” according to Blackley.
In response to some Twitter users claiming that Xbox had “lost its soul,” however, the Xbox co-creator had a more hopeful take on the situation. Blackley stated that he believes there are still “many people” at Microsoft who have “all that soul” from theoriginal Xbox console era. Despite many expressing concern that Xbox’s more-than-20-year run may be coming to an end soon, Blackley stated that he’s “confident this isn’t the end of the story.” He then reiterated that he still believes in both Xbox and gaming.
Xbox Has Been Widely Criticized for the Decision To Shut Down Four of Their First-Party Studios
Seamus Blackley’s reaction to this Xbox debacle comes shortly after other notable figures, likeArcane director Dinga Bakaba, criticized Microsoftfor shutting the four Bethesda studios down. While most Microsoft executives haven’t publicly said much on the matter, at the very least, Xbox president Sarah Bond did provide a much-needed, albeit rather vague, response when asked whyHi-Fi Rushdeveloper Tango Gameworks was shut down in an interview with Bloomberg. Though there are rumors that even more Xbox layoffs are on the horizon, Microsoft will hopefully be able to regain some excitement from fans with the impending release ofHellblade 2and the upcomingXboxshowcase in June.
Microsoft Xbox Series X
The Xbox Series X boasts the fastest CPU and GPU configuration currently available for a current-generation console while offering 1TB of fast SSD storage for users out of the box.It comes with an Xbox Series S|X controller, a power cord, and documentation along with a trial for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the box.
