Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and more “gone but not forgotten” video game studios were honored by a Los Angeles billboard ahead of this week’s major summer showcases.
Spotted by Stephen Totilo on X/Twitter, the electronic billboard was created by publisher New Blood Interactive in the wake of brutal industry lay-offs and studio closures.
“Gone but not forgotten,” the billboard reads, before listing affected studios and their 2024 closing dates: Arkane Austin, Roll7, Tango Gameworks, Volition, and Sony’s London Studio. It also shouts out “everyone laid off, downsized, and made redundant.”
“We love you. We miss you. We hate money.”
An electronic billboard from New Blood Interactive in downtown LA mourns the closure of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roll7, Sony’s London Studio, Volition and more
“Gone but not forgotten” pic.twitter.com/1zCeD4KEEw
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 7, 2024
“Thank you for your great games from your friends at New Blood,” it added. “We love you. We mss you. We hate money.”
Microsoft shut down Redfall developer Arkane Austin alongside Hi-Fi Rush and Ghostwire Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks in May 2024 in a move met with shock and anger by industry peers and fans. Xbox owner Microsoft posted a 17% increase in revenue and $21.9 billion in profit in its latest financial earnings report. Xbox executives have blamed the move on the video game industry’s lack of growth and a need to prioritise other games and studios.
OlliOlli World developer Roll7, meanwhile, was seemingly shut down by Take-Two Interactive in the same month despite its CEO Strauss Zelnick refusing to confirm this in an interview with IGN and dodging follow-up questions. Last month IGN reported on how the closure of Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and Roll7 are a part of a larger move by Take-Two to either sell off or shut down the entirety of its indie label, Private Division.
The embattled Embracer Group shut down Saints Row developer Volition in 2023, while Sony shut down its London Studio in March 2024 amid layoffs affecting 900 staff across the PlayStation business.
The billboard will be seen by many still in the video game industry as it looms over downtown LA in the lead up to a number of summer events, including Summer Games Fest, a showcase featuring several high profile announcements in the place of defunct video game event E3. Microsoft is set to host an Xbox showcase followed by a Call of Duty Direct, where it will unveil Black Ops 6.
Xbox and PlayStation are both confirmed as SGF partners, though Nintendo, as usual, is a no show. As for what to expect, a LEGO game based on Horizon: Zero Dawn, Sonic X Shadow Generation, what’s seemingly a console version of Amazon’s New World, and Civilization 7 have all leaked.
Image Credit: Stephen Totilo on X/Twitter
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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