[
XBOX and PlayStation seem to have been in a race to the bottom recently, with both companies making huge missteps that have angered fans.
First, PlayStation wanted Helldivers 2 players to create PSN accounts following its success despite the service not being available in around 120 countries.
There was obvious backlash, and Steam developer Valve began refunding everyone who owned Helldivers 2 no matter how many hours they had played.
Fortunately, this caused PlayStation to backtrack on its consumer-unfriendly demand, even though the damage to its reputation had already been done.
PlayStation didn’t need to worry about losing good will, as Xbox came back strong this week with an announcement that has devastated the industry.
Xbox shut down four studios, including Dishonored’s Arkane Austin, and Hi-Fi Rush’s Tango Gameworks, with the latter game being one of Xbox’s most successful titles last year.
Hi-Fi Rush received a huge 90 rating on review aggregate site Metacritic, it also won five awards last year including Best Audio Design at The Game Awards, and Best Animation at the BAFTAs.
It was nominated for a further 19 awards, including Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards.
To say Hi-Fi Rush was a breakout hit is an understatement. Its hugely successful shadow launch has changed the way games have been marketed and released in the year since and possibly forever.
However, it seems that this success wasn’t enough to save the developer, even as it was pitching a sequel according to a report by Bloomberg.
The same report suggests that Arkane Austin was pitching an immersive sim similar to its previous works like Dishonored, which is even more decorated than Hi-Fi Rush winning the BAFTA for Best Game.
Fans were baffled by the decision to shut down these two studios which have incredible games to offer, particularly when Xbox has been struggling with the quality of its first-party games.
However, new comments from head of Xbox Games Studios Matt Booty has left Xbox fans even more stunned.
According to a report by The Verge, in internal messages Booty said: “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards.”
It feels confusing to many that Booty would make remarks like this on the day after the company fired the developers who were making these games.
While PlayStation and Xbox are upsetting fans at least Nintendo has good news for the console community.
Among all of the turmoil, Nintendo announced the Switch 2, revealing that more details would come within the next nine months.
All the latest Xbox reviews from The Sun
Get the lowdown on more of the latest Xbox releases from our expert reviewers.
For PS5 and Nintendo Switch, check out our full game reviews section.
