Breakdown
- Xbox announces a new studio after killing Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin
- Called Elsewhere Entertainment, this studio will work on a new AAA franchise
- Only time will tell if this is a profitable studio or another place that Xbox will shutdown
Xbox and Activision Blizzard have announced a new game studio that will focus on the company’s next AAA franchise. This comes a week after Xbox killed two studios that were doing well, which makes the company’s decision feel confused and even a bit tone-deaf.
Called Elsewhere Entertainment (via Windows Central), this studio is expected to work on a “narrative-based & genre-defining AAA franchise,” though no details on this game were released. Elsewhere’s studio is in Warsaw, Poland, with developers from both Naughty Dog and CD Projekt Red leading this company.
"Built from the ground up, Elsewhere Entertainment is a premier and standalone studio dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas,” reads their statement. “The team’s underlying mission encourages everyone to explore and collaborate creatively to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.”
It’s frustrating to see a new Xbox company encouraged to be creative when Tango Gameworks did exactly that with Hi-Fi Rush and they were still forced to shut down. Arkane Austin had also made excellent games like Prey and were seemingly forced to make something dreadful like Redfall for the company.
What makes the existence of Elsewhere interesting is that they apparently have “full control” of Activision’s resources, which should lead to worthwhile development. Considering how that company will only make Call of Duty games, there is a hope that Elsewhere will make a good product for Xbox and Activision.
There is plenty of frustration with Xbox at the moment, as fans are wondering why the company would brazenly shut down to successful studios and now make a new one. Xbox has also been so busy shutting down studios and announcing this new company that they haven’t promoted Hellblade 2, which is coming out soon. Ninja Theory is a good development studio and fans are hoping that their game does well, despite the lack of Hellblade 2 marketing.