Games

This week, Microsoft — a company that already announced layoffs of 1,900 game workers earlier this year — once again took the scythe to its own workforce, shuttering four Bethesda studios in a single swing. It did so, according to an email to staff from Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty, to “double down” on franchises.

Sooo....Fallout is a franchise. You could double down on that and do Fallout 5.

googles

https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/microsoft-guts-four-studios-to-focus-on-priority-games-aka-bethesda-games

Microsoft guts four studios to focus on priority games aka Bethesda games

Oooh.

Adding to the ever-increasing list of game developers losing their jobs, Microsoft Xbox has shuttered three studios it acquired with Activision Blizzard, according to IGN. The three shuttered development studios in question are Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush, The Evil Within, Ghostwire), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom), and Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall). Roundhouse Games is also being absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online.

Oh. The other Bethesda franchise. Well, I guess that series is okay too.

https://www.gamingbible.com/news/platform/fallout-5-release-date-update-492501-20240507

As you’d expect fans are desperate to know more, and frantically searching for some sort of release window to look forward to.

This eventually led to them reaching out to Emil Pagliarulo, who acted as writing director for Starfield, lead designer for Fallout 4, and finally senior designer on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for potential answers.

Pagliarulo described it as a “good question,” and a “complicated question,” before saying “development times can vary for a variety of reasons. On Starfield, we spent a lot of time updating and developing tech. We also paused for a bit to assist with Fallout 76.”

They went on to say: “At the end of the day, though, it always comes down to that most important resource of all – people. As with any dev team, we have talented folks who need time to make great stuff. So we can’t do everything at once.”

So, if Bethesda decides to keep Fallout 5 in its grasp, bad news for the game’s release date as juggling three games at once doesn’t seem achievable, even for a studio as big as Bethesda is.

Well, maybe they'll license it out to someone.