as part of an otherwise substanceless interview, xbox boss phil spencer regaled video game industry personality andrea rene and a pax west 2024 crowd with stories of his past failures, which include passing on destiny and guitar hero.

“there are so many mixed emotions and stories for me around destiny,” spencer said. “when i started in xbox, [halo and destiny developer] bungie was already part of xbox. i learned a ton from just being around bungie about how to build games. we ended up not signing destiny. from a business standpoint, it’s been a really interesting journey in terms of what they built.”

asked about having any regrets about fumbling destiny — which became the usa‘s third best-selling video game of 2014, spawned a successful sequel in 2017, and is now owned by microsoft competitor sony — spencer admitted to making “some of the worst game choice decisions” as an xbox exec.

“when this team came down to redmond and pitched a game where they’re actually going to make plastic guitars, they’re gonna plug into consoles, and then they’re gonna, like, sell tracks where you’re gonna play simon on this guitar. and i’m like, ‘really? do we really think that’s gonna work?’ a few people played guitar hero. i hear that turned into a pretty good game.”

cute, right? spencer apparently isn’t a “regrets type person,” which means he can look back on these mistakes and laugh in an effort to paint himself as a personable, video game-loving executive rather than a stuffy suit making serious business decisions. it’s this exact kind of folksy, softball interview that’s helped him develop a weird cult of personality among the xbox fanbase as well as a journalist class that seems terrified of asking him difficult questions. but while spencer may be all about “looking forward,” it only takes the context of the last few months to realize the double standard at play.

just a few months ago, xbox closed three studios: arkane austin, alpha dog games, and tango gameworks. this put hundreds, if not thousands, of developers out of work while also calling into question management’s decision-making. say what you want about the other two, but tango gameworks was a studio on the rise. its most recent game, 2023’s hi-fi rush, not only garnered both critical and financial success but also helped the japanese company put to rest some of the bad publicity it received from the departure of founder shinji mikami earlier that year.

but don’t take my word for it. here’s what microsoft vice president of xbox marketing aaron greenberg had to say about tango gameworks and hi-fi rush three months after its launch:

Hi-Fi RUSH was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release.

— Aaron Greenberg 🙅🏼‍♂️💚U (@aarongreenberg) April 21, 2023

and just to add insult to injury, xbox games studio head matt booty reportedly told workers the company needed “smaller games that give us prestige and awards” following the closure of tango gameworks. if hi-fi rush doesn’t fit the bill, i don’t know what does.

so what’s the difference here? why is spencer able to yuck it up about his failures while maintaining his prestigious, high-paying executive position while a studio full of incredibly talented people can be shitcanned despite putting out, by all metrics, a hit game for a corporation that, let’s be honest, really doesn’t put out hit games anymore? the sad truth is that vapid, dead-eyed suits like phil spencer are able to play with house money, lose, and keep on keeping on because there will always be workers to use as scapegoats.

the story of tango gameworks has a somewhat happy ending. the studio was recently purchased from xbox by krafton, the south korean company behind pubg battlegrounds, but just because it escaped the jaws of oblivion this time doesn’t mean there isn’t another gaping chasm waiting over the horizon. until the video game industry and, more importantly, the media start holding phil spencer accountable for his many fuck-ups, he and his ilk will continue treating workers like sacrificial lambs they can bleed dry for a few more years of unearned, million-dollar bonuses.