Thomas Mahler, Moon Studios’ co-founder and the director of Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and No Rest for the Wicked, has just made a statement regarding the recent layoffs rumored to be occurring across several Xbox-owned studios. Mahler says that Xbox was “too focused on the past” during development of the Ori series, and that “nostalgia alone is not enough” for Xbox to be a successful business.
Last week, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma released a company-wide letter that discussed the future of Xbox. In this letter, Sharma said that a “reset” is currently underway for the gaming company. On June 15, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O’Connor left the company. Mere hours after their departure, it was reported that Xbox was looking to shutter Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory. Layoffs/studio closures have not been officially confirmed yet, and it’s believed that at least Compulsion Games is in some sort of “negotiations” with Xbox.
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Thomas Mahler Says That “Nostalgia Alone Is Not Enough” To Save Xbox
In the midst of the potential round of mass layoffs and studio closures, Moon Studio co-founder Thomas Mahler took to Twitter to make a statement. Mahler begins his statement by saying that it’s “heartbreaking” to see what’s happening at Xbox and that “a lot of great people are being affected.” Mahler then says that he doesn’t “want to minimize that,” but that this has “felt like a long time coming” and that it may be just “the beginning of a much larger reset across the industry.” Mahler believes that in the long run this industry-wide reset “could be good for games and good for gamers.”
What’s That Weapon?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Mahler goes on to talk about his experience working with Xbox on the Ori series. He claims that even during Ori‘s development, it was clear that Halo and Gears of War were Xbox’s main focus, despite original series creators Bungie and Epic Games having stepped away. Mahler says that he’d “secretly hoped” that Ori would become a “Mario’esque mascot” for Xbox given the series’ critical acclaim, and admits that he sent former Xbox CEO Phil Spencer multiple emails trying to convince him that Xbox should be making more family-friendly experiences. Mahler states that “the powers to be were probably too focused on the past for that to happen.”
Mahler then addresses Xbox’s vast catalog of well-known IP, saying that “the problem is and has always been that great games are not made by IP. They’re made by people… But nostalgia alone is not enough.” Mahler suggests that Xbox needs to find the “Miyamotos, Tezukas, Sakurais, etc. within their own ecosystem,” and “bet on those people — not just IP.” Once the “right” people have been found, Mahler then says the formula for success is simple, Xbox simply needs to “ship better games than [their] competition.”
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
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Mahler’s statement ends by saying that a full reset of a giant corporation is “brutally difficult” but not impossible, and points to Apple’s restructuring in 1997, which saw Steve Jobs return as Apple’s CEO and proceed to significantly reduce the company’s product lines, alter Apple’s marketing strategies, and parter with Microsoft. Mahler says that “the playbook is already written out” for Xbox.
