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Billboard Outside Summer Game Fest Pays Tribute To Everyone Who’s Lost Their Industry Jobs
7.6.2024
Hundreds of the biggest names in the video game industry are gathered in Los Angeles for Summer Game Fest this week. Most of the week will be made up of ads and spotlights for upcoming games. Historically, Geoff Keighley’s showcases and events have unfortunately not been a place to talk about...
Every Video Game Showcase Happening During Not-E3 And Summer Game Fest 2024
30.5.2024
What’s dead may never die. E3 may finally be gone for good but its spirit lives on in Summer Game Fest. Hosted by The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley, the event kicks off in June and promises teases, trailers, and world premieres for the biggest games of tomorrow and beyond. Here’s every gaming...
Hellblade 2 Studio Reportedly Already Working On Its Next Game
21.5.2024
Fresh off the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Microsoft has reportedly greenlit the next project from developer Ninja Theory. The studio, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2018 for $117 million, has earned a reputation for creating high-quality narrative action games. That’s something...
Kotaku’s Weekend Guide: 6 Games We're Obsessed With Right Now
17.5.2024
We’re reaching the end of yet another week, and that (hopefully) means we’ve got a solid 48 hours of gaming bliss lined up. Perhaps you too are looking forward to spending some time this weekend gaming, but aren’t sure what to pick. Read more
Hi-Fi Rush Devs Fix The Tiniest Bugs In One Last Update
15.5.2024
Hi-Fi Rush, developed by Tango Gameworks, is a colorful action-rhythm game that got a surprise release in 2023 and ended up being one of the best games of the year. But the studio behind it was recently closed by Xbox, making the game’s final update a somber farewell to fans. Read more
Hi-Fi Rush: The Kotaku Retrospective Review
13.5.2024
There’s a scene late in Hi-Fi Rush, the rhythm action game by the now-defunct Tango Gameworks, in which protagonist Chai explores a museum dedicated to the antagonistic, oppressive megacorp Vandelay Technologies. In it, the corporation tells a sanitized version of its own history, one that glosses...
Xbox Boss Can Finally Get His Revenge, Unlocks Ability To Nuke Other Players In Fallout 76
13.5.2024
Amid turmoil and disillusionment over recent studio closures, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has continued grinding through Fallout 76 and has just finished the “Officer on Deck” questline, granting him the ability to launch the survival MMO’s infamous nukes. The new capability was unlocked just...
The Buck Stops With Phil Spencer, 1000xRESIST Is A Must-Play, And More Gaming Opinions For The Week
11.5.2024
People had strong feelings, to put it mildly, after Xbox shuttered Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and other studios, and we share some of our own. Also,PlayStation finally relented on a requirement that PC players maintain a PSN account, but not before colossal fan uproar, and as the dust started...
Xbox Shutters Studios, Switch 2 Specs May Have Leaked, And More Of The Week's Gaming News
11.5.2024
This past week started with a shock, as Microsoft announced it was closing a number of studios including Tango Gameworks, responsible for the very well-liked Hi-Fi Rush, leading many to wonder just what a studio has to achieve in this day and age to be deemed successful enough to exist. Also,...
The Xbox Fallout: Breaking Down Microsoft's Worst Gaming Week In Years
10.5.2024
It has been a very bad week for Xbox Game Studios. On Tuesday, May 7, Microsoft announced it would shut down three studios: Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush creators Tango Gameworks, and Mighty Doom studio Alpha Dog Games. On top of this, Roadhouse Games is being absorbed into Elder...
Metal Gear Solid VR Missions: The Kotaku Retro Review
10.5.2024
After stealthily sneaking past a series of guards in the cold, digital halls of endless data, I’m brought to a new environment, now with a gun in hand and a series of explosive gems floating before me. I have to take all of these objects out as fast as I possibly can. And then, once I’m done, I’ll...
Meet The Guy Who Just Nuked Xbox Boss Phil Spencer In Fallout 76
9.5.2024
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is taking a lot of heat online for recent decisions to close beloved studios like Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. Last night the long-time gaming exec was apparently exploring the wasteland in Fallout 76 when another player nuked his entire campsite. Read more
Report: Xbox Closing Studios Blamed On Too Many Games
8.5.2024
After shutting down multiple Bethesda studios, Xbox and Bethesda leadership held a town hall meeting with staff to discuss the closures, explaining that the company’s studios had been spread too thin and that it wanted to focus on fewer projects moving forward.Read more
What’s Even The Point Of Xbox Game Pass Now?
8.5.2024
On May 7, Microsoft closed down four first-party development studios it had acquired from Zenimax Media in 2021 including Tango Gameworks, developer of The Evil Within series and 2023’s surprise hit Hi-Fi Rush. It’s the latest round of layoffs and closures that the gaming industry, and Xbox...
Apple’s New iPad Ad Sparks Loud, Immediate Backlash
8.5.2024
Sometimes, you get blatant reminders of how much disregard big tech has for, well, everything. Whether that’s exorbitant spending on acquisitions, layoffs of hundreds to thousands of people, and refusing to release or delist its employees’ hard work for a tax write-off. But now and then, you...
Dishonored Developer Shares The Personal Pain Of Microsoft's Studio Closures
8.5.2024
Harvey Smith, the now-former studio director at Arkane Austin, has taken to X/Twitter to express his feelings about Microsoft’s sudden and shocking closure of the beloved developer, alongside three other Bethesda-adjacent studios, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games. The team...
Report: Devs Were Working On Redfall's Offline Mode Up Until They Were Fired
8.5.2024
Earlier today, Redfall development studio Arkane Austin was closed by Xbox alongside Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Games. And it sounds like, before the shutdown, the team was working on new content and updates for the vampire-hunting shooter that, now, won’t ever be released.Read more
It's Time To Stop Giving Xbox Boss Phil Spencer A Pass
7.5.2024
On May 7, Xbox announced that it was closing four studios: Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom), and support studio Roundhouse Games. The news is yet another example of Xbox—which has spent billions buying up studios—cutting costs, laying people...
Hi-Fi Rush Was The Hit Xbox Needed, And It Still Wasn't Enough For Them
7.5.2024
Today, May 7, Xbox announced it’s shutting down three studios and merging another. This includes Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Mobile Doom studio Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Games is being absorbed into Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. But perhaps most shocking...
'A F***ing Gut Stab': Game Industry Reacts To Shocking New Studio Closures
7.5.2024
One of the worst years for cancellations, cuts, and closures in the history of the video game industry has just claimed its next victims, including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. Developers and fans alike are in disbelief. “Great teams are sunsetting before our eyes again, and it’s a fucking...