Microsoft to close three studios including Tango Softworks, Arkane Austin

Roundhouse Games will also dissolve, with staff reassigned.

Microsoft will close three studios, while staff at a fourth studio will be reassigned, the publisher today announced. The closure of Arkane Austin, the developer of Redfall, will also mean that planned content for the beleaguered shooter will not be delivered.

Hi-Fi Rush‘s Tango Softworks and Mighty Doom‘s Alpha Dog Studios will also close, while those at support studio Roundhouse Games will be redeployed to other teams.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty told Microsoft employees of the closures in an email to staff sighted by IGN.

“Today I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams. These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades,” Booty wrote.

“To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us.”

“Today it was announced that Arkane Austin will close and development will not continue on Redfall,” Arkane Austin said, confirming the closure on Twitter.

“To everytone that has supported the work from our Austin studio over the years, thank you. Thank you for spending time in our worlds and making them your own,” the team behind Redfall and Prey continued.

Those who purchased Redfall‘s Hero Pass will receive a refund to “the value of the upgrade,” the update added.

It’s unclear how many employees will be laid off as part of this restructure; Microsoft announced it was laying off 1,900 people, or 8% of its workforce, after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.