Previously-shuttered Alpha Dog Games is back as an independent studio

As part of one of Microsoft’s earlier Xbox restructures – in which the likes of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks were shut down – a lesser-known team was also impacted, with Alpha Dog Games unfortunately being closed. Like with Tango Gameworks however, reports of Alpha Dog Games’ death were ‘exaggerated’, with the studio now back and independent once again.

As shared by Timur222, Alpha Dog Games founder Shawn Woods updated their LinkedIn page revealing that the studio, which was shuttered by Microsoft back in 2024, has since been revived.

Said to have been opened back up in May of 2025, Woods confirmed that Alpha Dog Games is once again an independent studio – suggesting that they stuck a similar deal to that seen with the likes of Double Fine and Compulsion Games more recently.

As of now, no new details have been shared on what the team is working on, however they did give a bit of a timeline on their independence, writing: “Originally acquired by Bethesda in 2019 and later becoming part of Microsoft Xbox through the ZeniMax Media acquisition in 2021, Alpha Dog returned to independent ownership in 2025 when the founding team reacquired the studio.”

Alpha Dog Games was one of Zenimax / Bethesda’s lesser-known studios, with the small team being responsible for the mobile-focused Mighty DOOM – which launched to mixed reviews. That said, many of the complaints came from its monetisation practices, and so it will be interesting to see how an independent Alpha Dog Games will approach their next title in this regard.

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KitGuru says: What did you think of Mighty Doom? How was the gameplay itself? Are you glad to see most studios survive their Xbox exodus? Let us know down below.

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