The video game industry has reacted with shock and anger after Xbox shut down several game studios today, May 7, 2024 including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, the developers of Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush respectively.
Thanks for explaining. I was not arguing the point that closures happen, just expanding on why it’s not easy for the studios to get back on their feet again as independents.
There will likely be non-disclosure agreements, non-competes or simply IP rights to take into consideration if we want to argue why these studios can’t continue their work. In the end it comes down to legal stuff and money. The IP rights even for unreleased products very likely are with the parent corporation. The same goes for the codebase.
So yeah. The studios are left with nothing, except a severance pay if they’re lucky.
Thanks for explaining. I was not arguing the point that closures happen, just expanding on why it’s not easy for the studios to get back on their feet again as independents.
There will likely be non-disclosure agreements, non-competes or simply IP rights to take into consideration if we want to argue why these studios can’t continue their work. In the end it comes down to legal stuff and money. The IP rights even for unreleased products very likely are with the parent corporation. The same goes for the codebase.
So yeah. The studios are left with nothing, except a severance pay if they’re lucky.
Normative statements are a novel concept to some people.
Pointing to all that and going AND THAT’S HORSESHIT is not a factual argument - it’s a moral judgement.
I’m not saying it’s untrue. I’m saying it’s unacceptable.
In short:
Fuck.
That.
Well, you can only win against big corpo if you shoot them with their own guns.
Or literal guns.