The co-founder 3D Realms, George Broussard, is reporting that Microsoft has started swinging the axe at Zenimax, the umbrella company that includes Bethesda (Fallout), ID (Quake), Arkane (Dishonored), Machine Games (Wolfenstein) and Zenimax Online (Elder Scrolls Online).<\/p>\n
He replied to a tweet that suggested \u201cAnyone not working on Fallout or Elder Scrolls is out\u201d with \u201cOh is that public now? That\u2019s exactly what I heard a few days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were suggestions that at least Arkane was negotiating for the chance to go independent<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reports have also emerged that Ninja Theory, the studio behind the Hellblade<\/a>\u00a0series (including the very, very recently announced\u00a0Senua<\/a>) is set to be shut down by Microsoft.<\/p>\n Sources told\u00a0The Verge<\/a>\u00a0that staff were informed on Monday about the studio\u2019s coming closure, though they are hoping to find a buyer for the studio and avoid being shut down entirely. Microsoft did not immediately respond to The Verge\u2019s reporting.<\/p>\n Things are moving very quickly following the\u00a0initial reports about Xbox game studios potentially shutting down<\/a>, with Ninja Theory mentioned alongside Compulsion Games and Double Fine as studios that are facing closure.\u00a0Kotaku<\/a>\u00a0reported that Microsoft is set to close down Compulsion, while\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0reported that all three are bargaining for their future away from Xbox.<\/p>\n All of this is coming just days after\u00a0a swell of positivity for the Xbox brand at Summer Game Fest<\/a>. The company had reversed the full cross-platform policy during the showcase, confirming that\u00a0Gears of War: E-Day<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Clockwork Revolution<\/a>\u00a0are to be full Xbox console exclusives, but just days later, she was revealing a massive slide in profitability and\u00a0saying that Xbox needs a deep business reset<\/a>.<\/p>\n