Another Xbox Game Studio Goes Independent

A new report claims that another Xbox Game Studio has gone independent. According to insiders, Alpha Dog Games has become independently owned again after Microsoft closed it down in 2024. The former Bethesda-owned studio was the team behind Mighty Doom.

Bethesda Studio Goes Independent After Being Shut Down in 2024

Alpha Games Mighty Doom Artwork
Screenshot: Bethesda, Alpha Dog Games

In 2024, Microsoft announced that it had closed down Alpha Dog Games alongside Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. The studio was originally acquired by Bethesda in 2019 and later developed the mobile title Mighty Doom. However, it now appears that the former Xbox studio has been resurrected from the dead.

According to an update to the LinkedIn profile of the studio’s founder, Shawn Woods, Alpha Dog Games has become independently owned again. The change was discovered by eagle-eyed fans, who claim that the developer recently updated his profile to reflect the studio’s new status.

Alpha Games Independent Studio
Screenshot: LinkedIn Shawn Woods

At the time of writing, Shawn Woods has not released a statement or officially announced the news. All we have to go off of is his LinkedIn résumé, which now lists “Founder: Alpha Dog Games. Independently owned, again.” However, based on the wording, it seems pretty clear that the studio is, in fact, alive and independent.

Other Xbox Studios Leaving Microsoft

Double Fine Leaves Xbox
Screenshot: Xbox

What makes Alpha Dog Games’ situation interesting is that the former Bethesda studio was closed down. This has caused some players to speculate that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma could be open to allowing other shuttered studios to become independent again. However, it should be pointed out that we don’t know when Alpha Dog Games regained its independence.

Woods’ profile lists his current position as “2025 to Present,” so it’s unclear whether the studio actually became independent again last year. If that’s the case, then it happened long before Sharma took up the role. But even if its resurrection was more recent, we don’t know what ownership arrangement Alpha Dog Games had with Microsoft. So it’s kind of pointless trying to speculate in that regard.

Akane Blade Story Trailer
Screenshot: Xbox

That said, during the recent Xbox layoffs in July, many were surprised when Microsoft announced that several Xbox studios would leave the company:

  • Double Fine Productions and Compulsion Games will become independent.
  • Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will move under new ownership.
  • Arkane is reviewing potential strategic options.

Regardless of when Alpha Dog Games regained its independence, this is pretty great news for the games industry. Microsoft shut down the studio only two years ago, so seeing it return as an independent developer is cause to celebrate. It remains unclear what Alpha Dog is currently working on, but hopefully more publishers will allow studios to regain their independence rather than shut them down permanently.

The post Another Xbox Game Studio Goes Independent appeared first on VICE.

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