Recently, Xbox decidedto shut downdevelopers Alpha Dog Games, Roundhouse Games, Arkane Austin, and Tango Gameworks.
This news sent shockwaves through an industry that has becomesadly accustomedtoreports of layoffsand studio closures.
The closures of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks feel particularly baffling.
As many began to ask increasingly angry variations of the question Why?
Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty offerred something you could callously call an answer.
Xbox has been searching for major blockbuster exclusives since the critical and market decline of theHaloandGears of Warfranchises.
Yes, Xbox and its many partner studios continue to make great games.
As weve said elsewhere, its no longer just an argument about the comparative quality of those games.
Xbox has a decade+ long exclusivesquantityproblem as well.
Thats the problem, though.
Sadly, they kind of do.
But bemoaning our dependency on and fascination with legacy franchises is different from respecting their power.
Matt Booty is right.
