Xbox players blast Microsoft controller reveal after Bethesda studio closures MicrosoftOn the same day that several Bethesda studio closures were announced, Xbox unveiled a new \u201cFire Vapor\u201d controller with a reveal players say was in poor taste. The gaming industry\u2019s unprecedented series of job cuts continued on May 7 when news that Microsoft would be shutting down several Bethesda Softworks studios made the rounds. Several studios were shuttered, namely Arcane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom). Meanwhile, Roundhouse Games will merge with ZeniMax Online to help with Elder Scrolls Online\u2019s ongoing development. Now, Microsoft\u2019s marketing has poured salt on the wound by unveiling a special edition Xbox controller called the \u201cFire Vapor.\u201d To make matters worse, the gamepad\u2019s original Xbox Wire post told players to \u201cFeel the Burn Today,\u201d mere hours after reports about the layoffs hit the web. Microsoft has since updated the write-up with a new title, \u201cIntroducing the Fire Vapor Special Edition Controller.\u201d However, The Verge\u2019s Tom Warren managed to capture a screenshot of the initial headline. The response to the poor timing has been nothing if not harsh on Xbox\u2019s marketing group. One person under Warren\u2019s tweet joked Beavis and Butthead probably run the team. Someone else commented, \u201cAdd this to the list of how out of touch Microsoft marketing actually is.\u201d The poor-taste announcement is similarly being lambasted elsewhere on Twitter. In the replies to Wario64\u2018s tweet about the controller, one user asked, \u201cIs Microsoft trolling the community by releasing a controlling \u2018burning\u2019 their loyal fanbase the same day they let go of Tango and Arkane?\u201d Following the layoff reports, Arkane Lyon\u2019s Co-Creative Director, Dinga Bakaba, reminded executives that their business is about taking care of the artists who \u201ccreate value\u201d for corporations. Such frustrations aren\u2019t exclusive to the latest Xbox studio closures, though it\u2019s worth noting Microsoft hasn\u2019t detailed how many staffers will lose their jobs. Sony cut 900 jobs earlier this year, EA let go of nearly 700 employees, and Take-Two recently slashed roles at Private Division while shuttering Roll7 and Intercept Games. All told, the industry has suffered approximately 10,000 job cuts in 2024 alone. It\u2019s no wonder that what would usually amount to a harmless controller reveal has compounded the exasperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Xbox players blast Microsoft controller reveal after Bethesda studio closures MicrosoftOn the same day that several Bethesda studio closures were announced, Xbox unveiled a new \u201cFire Vapor\u201d controller with a reveal players say was in poor taste. The gaming industry\u2019s unprecedented series of job cuts continued on May 7 when news that Microsoft would be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}