Xbox president Sarah Bond says Bethesda studio closures were ‘extraordinarily hard’

After the closure of three Bethesda-owned game studios and the absorption of another earlier this week, Xbox president Sarah Bond has partly blamed the rising cost of making “beautiful triple-A blockbuster games” as a factor in the decision.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech Summit, Bond was immediately questioned about the layoffs and studio shutdowns that have plagued Microsoft since early this year. The tech giant cut 1,900 jobs in its gaming department in January. This week’s closures include Tango Gameworks...