AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly 100 people working in Austin will be laid off as part of cuts to Microsoft's gaming division.
On Tuesday morning, Arkane Studios employees were told they were being let go through an internal memo obtained by KVUE.
Now a WARN (Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice sent to the Texas Workforce Commission from Arkane Studios reveals that 96 employees in Austin will be let go in July.
According to head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft Matt Booty, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Studios and Tango Gameworks will be shut down as part of cuts at Bethesda. A fourth studio, Roundhouse Games, will join the ZeniMax Online Studios team. Meanwhile, France-based Arkane Lyon will survive the layoffs to work on an adaptation of Marvel's "Blade."
"These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda's portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades," Booty wrote in the memo.
Arkane opened its Austin studio in 2006. It helped create the popular "Dishonored" series, along with popular titles like "Prey" and "Deathloop."
Most recently, Arkane Austin created "Redfall," a highly anticipated first-person shooter that received poor reviews. While Bethesda stated it was dedicated to improving the game, there will no longer be any updates to it following the layoffs.
KVUE reached out to Bethesda and Microsoft for more details on the layoffs, but have yet to hear back.