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[Draugoth]

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has addressed the recent closure of a number of studios at Microsoft's gaming business, insisting he has to make "hard decisions" to run a sustainable business.

Speaking to IGN's Ryan McCaffrey at IGN Live, Spencer briefly commented on the shock decision to shut Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks as part of sweeping layoffs affecting some 1,900 staff.

"The closure of any team is hard obviously on the individuals there, hard on the team," Spencer said. "I haven't been talking publicly about this, because right now is the time for us to focus on the team and the individuals. It's obviously a decision that's very hard on them, and I want to make sure through severance and other things that we're doing the right thing for the individuals on the team. It's not about my PR, it's not about Xbox PR. It's about those teams.

"In the end, I've said over and over, I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make.

"We will continue to go forward. We will continue to invest in what we're trying to go do in Xbox and build the best business we can, which ensures we can continue to do shows like the one we just did."

Source

 

[64bitmodels]

He should run it better then.

 

[A.Romero]

Makes sense to me.

Now release good games and people won't care.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

3 trillion dollar company

 

[Atrus]

People understand that it’s a business, people are just confused why he doesn’t run it well. That way it is more sustainable and their employees can expect a longer tenure within Microsoft instead of getting shafted.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Shutting studios but also has lots of leeway to run the business how they want to in response to the $70 billion acquiisition. If he has that kind of access to funds why is he closing down studios? It doesn't make sense.

How this guy is still in charge of running Xbox I will never know.

 

[FeralEcho]

Why is 343i still up if that's the case...

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Ten years, fuck sake. It’s just going to drag on and on with this guy .

 

[Kilau]

This sounds like what Nadella told him he should have been doing.

 

[Doom85]

Phil…..

He should run it better then.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Given how amazing the Xbox showcase was, I'd say he's trimming the fat in the correct way.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

He should run it better then.

Go on, teach him how it's done, sitting on your desk while eating some Doritos.

Edit: Just want to clarify that I'm not defending Phil Spencer decision to close Tango or Arkane Austin. I was poking fun at the fact that some people seems to believe it's easy to run business (which I don't agree). It was meant to be playful, but I see that some people took it to the heart. For that I apologize.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Guy is wasting his time as a game CEO, he should run for Congress

 

[Gaiff]

Go on, teach him how it's done, sitting on your desk while eating some Doritos.

Pay me $50M and I will reveal all my secrets on how to make Xbox the most successful gaming brand in the world.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Microsoft: We need more Games (2018)

Microsoft: We bought Bethesda for more games (2020)

Microsoft: We love HiFi Rush it's a great game (2023)

Microsoft: We need to run a business so we shut down studios that don't sell many games (2024)

....

Why did you buy the studios then if you're going to cut and run after 1 failure partially caused by GamePass?

 

[SlimySnake]

3 trillion dollar company

In the fiscal year 2023, Microsoft Corporation reported a net income of over 72.4 billion U.S. dollars

$72 billion in profit and still running their company like cheap bastards.

 

[BlackTron]

Go on, teach him how it's done, sitting on your desk while eating some Doritos.

After leaving a laugh reaction, I felt the need to post to clarify that I am laughing at you, not with you

 

[Lions Gate]

i have such a deep hate for this guy, he's a fucking manipulative liar, a showman, and horrible CEO

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Why is 343i still up if that's the case...

Exactly !!!

I honestly don't get it. Am I missing something?

 

[Nankatsu]

I love the Xbox is so back trend. It's always the same after events until reality hits once again

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Now release good games and people won't care.

People understand that it’s a business, people are just confused why he doesn’t run it well. That way it is more sustainable and their employees can expect a longer tenure within Microsoft instead of getting shafted.

Both good points.

Shutting studios but also has lots of leeway to run the business how they want to in response to the $70 billion acquiisition. If he has that kind of access to funds why is he closing down studios? It doesn't make sense.

How this guy is still in charge of running Xbox I will never know.

Disagree with this. Spencer definitely doesn't have access to $70bn to keep things ticking over. You must be able to see the difference.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

After leaving a laugh reaction, I felt the need to post to clarify that I am laughing at you, not with you

That's alright, brother! Your posts also entertain me a lot without you realizing it, so I'm glad to return the favor sometimes!

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Exactly !!!

I honestly don't get it. Am I missing something?

Blackmail nudes?

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Both good points.


Disagree with this. Spencer definitely doesn't have access to $70bn to keep things ticking over. You must be able to see the difference.

In the interview he stated they have lots of leeway to run things how they want to when questioned about getting more looks from your boss over the $70 Billion acquisition.

Seems to suggest they have the full financial backing of papa MS if they need access to more cash. Unless i read into that wrong.

 

[rkofan87]

Shutting studios but also has lots of leeway to run the business how they want to in response to the $70 billion acquiisition. If he has that kind of access to funds why is he closing down studios? It doesn't make sense.

How this guy is still in charge of running Xbox I will never know.

i do not think that was phil that was phils dumb ass boss at the top.

 

[clarky]

3 trillion dollar company

They didn't get to 3 trillion by keeping the shit floating.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Phil has started back his yapping train.

Let the yapping recommence

 

[LordCBH]

“I have to run a business.”

And you do it poorly, Phil.

 

[EDMIX]

smh

All this shows, is they had no real actual desire to truly invest with those studios. Its like they had a plan all along to just trim the fat and close those studios down.

 

[dorkimoe]

3 trillion dollar company

Amazon, Google, MICROSOFT (not just xbox) have all had massive layoffs

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Go on, teach him how it's done, sitting on your desk while eating some Doritos.

Won't somebody please think about the poor, multi-millionaire CEO...

 

[Saber]

I think people know pretty well what your job is. The point is wheter you're doing well or not, which is probably the latter.

Go on, teach him how it's done, sitting on your desk while eating some Doritos.

You come to a discussion gaming forum to post this low effort snarky comment even knowing that includes you as well?
Whats next? He earns more than people on here so no one is allowed to say anything? Cheez dude, thats a 10 year old rot brain level posting here.

 

[ReBurn]

I don't really have an issue with Arkane Austin closing, but I'm sure they could have found a better alternative to Tango if they really needed to cut back. Maybe Mikami's exit was more damaging to the studio than has been publicly revealed. Not sure I buy that, though.

 

[Pejo]

I understand his statement here, and I agree that running a business isn't all dreams and joy, but it seems he's pretending that a large part of the blame could be pointed towards his shit decisions over the past few years and mismanagement that led to the need to shutter the studios. If it was all hit after hit and realistic budgets/good profits, there would be no need to shut them down.

His poor management and particularly the poor management/directoin of people he puts in charge have a direct correlation to the people in the trenches losing their job and their studio.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

He should run it better then.

He's been running it like ass for years and he's dumb business moves are a big reason a lot of people have lost their jobs working at game studios.

 

[Topher]

I don't really have an issue with Arkane Austin closing, but I'm sure they could have found a better alternative to Tango if they really needed to cut back. Maybe Mikami's exit was more damaging to the studio than has been publicly revealed. Not sure I buy that, though.

I feel like Arkane got a raw deal as well considering Phil Spencer was defending the studio after the Redfall debacle. Acts like he has your back and then stabs it.

 

[Doom85]

I feel like Arkane got a raw deal as well considering Phil Spencer was defending the studio after the Redfall debacle. Acts like he has your back and then stabs it.

Microsoft is not planning to shut Redfall studio Arkane Austin | VGC

Xbox says it should have done a better job supporting the Bethesda studio…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Edit: to clarify, I know this is an old article, it just sounds like they said some bullshit back then given what happened later.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Phil is a moron and should have been fired ages ago

 

[Magic Carpet]

Spend a few bucks on a band new shiny handheld PC OS and I'll think you might have some business in your business.

 

[jorgejjvr]

Then run a business better so that when one of your games is a goty contender and it's a "success in every metric" doesn't get shut down.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Go on, teach him how it's done, sitting on your desk while eating some Doritos.

“See that Halo Infinite gameplay video?”

“Yes”

“It’s not up to standard and you risk a substantial negative reaction coming into a new generation of consoles considering you have no other major launch title to compensate “

 

[Humdinger]

I wondered when he'd come out and address this. Although he says it's not about PR, I can't help but notice the timing and the context. Timing: while tons of positive Xbox news is dropping (providing cover?). Context: "speaking to IGN's Ryan McCaffrey" (softballs).

 

[ReBurn]

I feel like Arkane got a raw deal as well considering Phil Spencer was defending the studio after the Redfall debacle. Acts like he has your back and then stabs it.

He was definitely disingenuous with them. This has been the year for gaming CEO's to show themselves to be two faced.

 

[Rentahamster]

He has to run a business, sure, that's true. However, why does it seem like some of the elements in his business that have wasted the most money are still around?

 

[XXL]

 

[Pelta88]

The fact that he states “It’s not about PR” twice, speaks volumes.

 

[Rat Rage]

Most super successful CEO's are either psychopaths or people with a high degree of psychopatic tendencies - in other words asshole human beings. It's easy for them to not care about their surroundings.

Should these kind of people be respected? Of course not. Deep down, humanity as we know it today, has been built on the foundations - which go back the very first humans ever - of cooperation, love and altruism. Without these essential pillars humans wouldn't have been able to get successful as a species - and there would be not human society.

In human history, most psychopaths haven have been weedet out by natural selection, because psychopatic traits are the polar opposite of cooperation, love and altruism and have been a massive hindrance to the overall natural fitness of the human species as a whole; it's only in modern times due to the rise of capitalism that these type of people or rather natural anomalies - suddenly - have found a knew breeding ground in which they can become very powerful through economic means (money).

 

[twilo99]

Do you thing Phili boy fuck the haters

 

[night13x]

Remember guys. This is the same leadership of people who one day fired tango. The next day told all the partners to make games like tango to everyone's confusion.

The MS way of running a business apparently.

 

[GHG]

They didn't get to 3 trillion by keeping the shit floating.

In that case, how is Xbox still around then?