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Report - ZeniMax on studio closures: "I think we were about to topple over"

Executive reportedly attributed shutdowns to lack of support and understaffing

A ZeniMax executive has reportedly said Xbox's closure of four studios this week was due to a lack of staff and support.

As reported by Bloomberg, head of ZeniMax Jill Braff reportedly said during a town hall meeting on Wednesday it was hard to support the studios globally "with a lean central team" and various projects in the works.

"I think we were about to topple over,"Braff said.

Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty allegedly added that the decision to close the four studios was to free up resources elsewhere, according to Bloomberg.

The publication also reported that Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin were in the process of pitching new projects which required more staff – these were reportedly a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush and a new single-player immersive sim game from Arkane.

This was suggested to be a factor in both closures.

GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Microsoft for comment.

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Sophie McEvoy avatar
Sophie McEvoy: Sophie McEvoy is a Staff Writer at GamesIndustry.biz. She is based in Hampshire and has been a gaming & entertainment journalist since 2018.
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