Alpha Dog Games Becomes Independent After Microsoft Closure

A Canadian video game studio that was shut down by Microsoft in 2024 appears to have been revived as an independent company, according to an update on the LinkedIn profile of its founder. Alpha Dog Games, the Halifax-based developer best known for the mobile game Mighty Doom, is now listed as "independently owned, again" on the profile of founder Shawn Woods.

The profile update, which was first noted on July 20, lists Woods's tenure at Alpha Dog Games as running from May 2025 to the present. This suggests the studio may have re-established itself independently over a year ago. Woods has not made a public statement or directly confirmed the studio's status.

Alpha Dog Games was founded in 2012 and was acquired by ZeniMax Media in 2019. When Microsoft purchased ZeniMax in 2021, the studio became part of Xbox Game Studios. In May 2024, Microsoft shut down Alpha Dog Games alongside studios Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks as part of broader organizational changes. The studio's major release, Mighty Doom, a mobile dungeon crawler spinoff of the Doom franchise, was launched in March 2023 and was shut down following the studio's closure.

The apparent revival of Alpha Dog Games follows a...