The industry sympathizes with the creators of Hellblade 2 and also expresses concern about the fate of the developers of Doom, Avowed and Psychonauts.

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Games
May 9, 2024 at 8:28 p.m

After the sudden closure of Tango Gameworks, there are concerns about the fate of other Xbox studios. Journalist Jez Corden also has major reservations about Microsoft’s stock, which is allegedly not very supportive of its teams.

Image source: Ninja Theory/Microsoft.

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to update:

As if it was a last-minute move, as if to put an end to the online discourse about the game’s lack of marketing Senua Saga: Hellblade 2, Microsoft got down to business. Xbox VP of Marketing Aaron Greenberg, https://twitter.com/aarongreenberg/status/1788369899729133683which The media campaign starts today and we can expect ads for this production on YouTube, HBO Max (or Max), Facebook, Instagram and Reddit, among others. On the last one already https://twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1788555384917053847 Posts promoting the game. The question is whether it was too late and whether the size of the campaign was adequate for the AAA production it was intended for. Hellblade 2. We will find out soon.

Original post

The closure of four Xbox studios was an unpleasant surprise. Especially in the case of Tango Gameworks, whose end worried gamers and journalists a lot Many people are also concerned about the future of creatives death, Hellblade, confession, The Psychonauts and other “smaller” Microsoft brands (via GamesRadar).

The “success” of Hi-Fi Rush was driven by the closure of the studio

At first glance, this may seem like an exaggeration. Program ID “crime” i death It makes absolutely no sense, and it looks like Microsoft is going all out to promote Obsidian Entertainment’s new work, an action RPG. confessionas well as the second part of the series Hellblade.

The problem is, the same can be said about Tango Gameworks on Monday. Hi-Fi Rush was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2023. A game out of nowhere, released almost immediately after the reveal, captured the hearts of players and reviewers. It’s true that Microsoft never boasted about the official sales results, and the title was available on Game Pass from the beginning, but it seems that the giant from Redmond was satisfied with the results of this production.

Despite this, the band folded less than two months after debuting Hi Fi Rush On PlayStation 5. I have already written about the reactions not only of players and journalists, but also of other developers. In short: Microsoft’s decision to shut down Tango Gameworks is completely incomprehensible to them.

Hellblade 2 without marketing

In this context, it’s easy to understand where concerns about the future of other Xbox studios come from. Especially Ninja Theory, because Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is another “small” hit that Microsoft supposedly needed, going straight to Game Pass.

This did not improve the mood of Senua’s fans A dry entrance reminiscent of the premiere of the second film Hellblade. Clearly, the official Xbox account didn’t make any effort: the entire message is about the game’s title and release date. Yes, that much was included in the entry aimed at promoting the debut of this long-awaited production, which netizens, including journalists, noted with sarcasm – but also with concern – https://twitter.com/_Tom_Henderson_/status/1788349208455479438 And https://twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1788336311813722596.

The creators themselves put more effort into promoting “2” (trans https://twitter.com/NinjaTheory/status/1788252526170743047). However, let’s be honest: the Xbox brand has incomparably more reach than Ninja Theory’s social media.

Is Microsoft Xbox’s worst enemy?

The person already mentioned is also worried about the second part of Senua’s story https://twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1788185156064292906. A journalist linked to the Windows Central site has already complained that Microsoft can’t explain what it considers its games to be “successful”. He also mentioned that Xbox studios feel “unsupported” by the Redmond giant and as a result, after the closure of Tango Gameworks, fear for their future. The Greens clearly have a problem, as Corden puts it, in “internal PR”.

He just gave an example Hi Fi Rush. Microsoft claimed the game was running fine, contrary to reports from VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb, which Corden retweeted. Both journalists were criticized for this, although after the closure of Tango Gameworks, we should assume that Grubb’s information was proven to be correct.

In this context, the journalist spoke about him Hellblade 2. The game comes to market with virtually no marketing as a digital production and debuts on Game Pass. It’s also not a title that fits the typical requirements of a “mega publisher” like Microsoft. So if Microsoft doesn’t support creators properly, Ninja Theory employees have reason to worry, and nothing destroys creativity and “morale” at a studio like job uncertainty.

Another troubling similarity – if we can call it that – is its reality Senua Saga: Hellblade 2 It is claimed that it could also be released on PlayStation 5. This wouldn’t be too much of a surprise, although Microsoft hasn’t confirmed it yet (by the way).