Tag: Layoffs
News Former Xbox Studio Suffers 'Significant' Layoffs Hours After Going Independent
"Development of State of Decay 3 remains actively underway at Undead Labs"
Yesterday, Undead Labs announced it had completed its separation from Xbox and was now a fully independent operation. Just mere hours later, however, the State of Decay developer returned with news that a significant number of employees had been let go. In the same message...
News Xbox Confirms Activision Will Develop The Next Halo Title
Halo Studios suffers layoffs too
Woah! It's been officially confirmed that Activision will be developing the next Halo game. Xbox CCO Matt Booty shared a message titled 'Continuing Our Reset' with employees across various Xbox teams, outlining the next steps for the company's big restructure through 2026. There's a lot going on in the post. Like,...
News Xbox Announces Four Major Studio Changes And Cuts 286 Jobs
"We are reorganizing our studios"
Earlier today, rumours starting doing the rounds that layoffs were incoming at Xbox, and it's now been confirmed that 286 roles are being eliminated across "Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the XGS management and central functions layer". All of this is part of the 3,200 job cuts that were announced...
Report Xbox Layoffs On The Way This Week, Multiple Studios To Be 'Consolidated'
Update: Now confirmed
It looks like more difficult Xbox news could be on the way, as it's being reported that a new wave of layoffs is set to take place at Xbox at some point this week, and multiple studios will be consolidated in the process. Most of this is coming from a report by The Information, which says that "hundreds" of jobs will be cut in...
News Giant Rat Leads Protests Against Xbox Layoffs Outside Bethesda HQ
The Elder Scrolls VI looks "incredible", but what about that rat?
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma visited Bethesda's Rockville, Maryland HQ on Tuesday to check out a 'live playthrough' of The Elder Scrolls 6, but what really caught everyone's attention was 'Scabby', a giant inflatable rat. Last month, Microsoft cut 1,600 jobs across its Xbox division, with a...
News Halo Studios Suffers Job Losses Shortly After Campaign Evolved Launch
Update: Xbox source says they're not "layoffs", but "external contractor shifts"
It's been just nine days since the release of Halo: Campaign Evolved (a remake we loved enough to slap a 10/10 on it) and now a few employees at Halo Studios have indicated they've left the company. The revamped campaign appears to be off to a good start, at least on...
News Former Xbox Studio Forced To Layoff 23 Employees To Ensure 'Survival Of Our Studio'
"The people we are losing were all important"
It's been just over three weeks since Psychonauts and Kiln developer Double Fine announced its independence from Xbox Game Studios, and the team has now been forced into letting go of 23 employees to avoid complete closure. Studio Head Tim Schafer confirmed the cuts on
News Fan Demand For Xbox To 'Stop The Cycle Of Layoffs' Trends On Player Voice Portal
Stop sacking our favourite developers
Xbox fans appear to be sick to their back teeth over mass layoffs and studio closures, with a shout to "stop the cycle of layoffs" becoming the most trending topic on Microsoft's newly-launched feedback site, Xbox Player Voice. The feeling is all too commonplace
Report id Software Pitched New Perfect Dark Before Xbox Layoffs
Amongst other ideas
id Software has been put through the ringer of late as layoffs continue to sweep through Xbox Game Studios, resulting in 3,200 job cuts. Half of the id Software team were let go just moments before shipping DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations DLC. Not the pat on back they sorely deserved. According to a report from
News Xbox Layoffs Cut id Software In Half As DOOM: The Dark Ages DLC Launches
"Xbox decided half the team was deemed useless"
DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations, the first major DLC for the bombastic shooter, launches today onto Xbox Series consoles (along with PC and PS5). It should have been a day of celebration for the team at id Software, a chance to revel in reviews and give themselves a proper good pat on the back...
News Obsidian, id Software & Others Confirmed To Be Affected By Xbox Layoffs
As hinted by Asha Sharma earlier today
As you've probably seen, Xbox has announced 3,200 job cuts as part of a major restructuring plan, with 1,600 of those cuts taking place today - including at popular Xbox studios and publishers such as Obsidian, Activision and Bethesda. Xbox boss Asha Sharma effectively confirmed this herself earlier today,...
News Here's The New Lineup Of Xbox Game Studios For July 2026 Onwards
Let's get an idea of how things are shaping up
So, you've probably seen the news today that Xbox is eliminating 3,200 job roles and getting rid of four studios in the process, with all of those development teams falling under the "Xbox Game Studios" banner at Microsoft. There are four studios that are definitely affected, while a fifth is in...
News Three Aims Detailed By Asha Sharma For The 'Most Significant Restructure In Xbox History'
Following a massive wave of layoffs
You've probably seen the news already today - Xbox is laying off 3,200 employees over the next 12 months (with half of them leaving immediately), and at least four studios will be departing the brand as part of it. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has issued an extremely long statement over on Xbox Wire to explain the...
News Xbox Announces 3,200 Job Cuts And Four Studio Departures
The news we were dreading
We've been waiting ages for Xbox to announce what's happening with the layoff situation, and it's now been confirmed that 3,200 roles are being eliminated throughout fiscal year 27, with 1,600 of those taking place today. In addition, Compulsion Games (We Happy Few, South of Midnight) and Double Fine Productions...
News Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
Update: Not as bad as first feared
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news again, but a new report from The Game Business says that Obsidian is amongst the studios that are in negotiations with Microsoft to avoid being closed at Xbox Game Studios. This seems to have come out of nowhere, with the Avowed and Outer Worlds developer having not been...
News Sony Issues Statement Announcing 'Significant' Job Cuts At Bungie
The Destiny 2 and Marathon developer
We hate to keep bringing you news on layoffs, but it feels like it's happening all the time at the moment. This latest story is about former Halo developer and current Destiny and Marathon developer Bungie, which is owned these days by Sony and PlayStation Studios. In a couple of statements, it's been revealed...
News Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
Multiple Compulsion Games employees have left the studio
Back in the middle of June, there were countless reports and rumours doing the rounds about upcoming Xbox layoffs and potential studio closures, and we're expecting a lot more concrete news on this in the coming days. Compulsion Games (developer of We Happy Few and South of Midnight) was...
Report Xbox Execs Were 'Blown Away' By Cancelled ZeniMax Game Earlier This Year
"Employees were stunned to see it get caught up"
Yesterday, one of the games that was reported to be cancelled as part of the Xbox layoffs was an unannounced ZeniMax Online Studios project, and according to a new report, employees were "stunned" to see it get shut down. This is coming from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, who says the game (codenamed...
Report Multiple Industry Veterans To Leave Xbox Studios Amidst Layoffs
Including big departures at Rare and ZeniMax Online Studios
The bad news about today's Xbox layoffs isn't over just yet, as some major names at multiple Xbox studios are said to be leaving their positions - either coincidentally or as a result of what we've been hearing all afternoon. Firstly, Zenimax Online Studios president Matt Frior is...
News Microsoft Is Seemingly Cutting Back On Its Quality Assurance Efforts With Xbox
"The Xbox user research team has been hit hard"
As we're sure you're all aware by now, Microsoft has been cutting staff like nobody's business this week, and their efforts are in-part due to 'streamlining' the business - or as Xbox exec Matt Booty says: "to adjust priorities and focus resources". Well, it seems as though these adjustments will be...
News Xbox's Matt Booty Issues Statement On Layoffs And Game Cancellations
"We did not make these choices lightly"
We've heard about lots of layoffs at Xbox today, which has led to multiple cancelled games highlighted by Perfect Dark and Everwild, and Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty has issued an internal statement about this to employees. In his statement, as shared by
News Two More Xbox Games Are Being Cancelled, Including Perfect Dark
The Initiative has been shut down as a result
News about the Xbox layoffs continues to trickle in today, and these latest reports have left us pretty speechless - they say that both a new ZeniMax MMORPG and the Perfect Dark reboot (!) have now been cancelled. The ZeniMax game was being made by the Elder Scrolls Online team, and Bloomberg's Jason...
News Xbox's Everwild Gets Cancelled As Layoffs Hit Sea Of Thieves Developer
Update: It's now official
We told you folks to brace yourselves today and that's exactly what's needed. Following news earlier that fresh Microsoft layoffs were starting to hit Xbox teams, it's being reported that Rare is now one of the studios affected - and its Everwild project has seemingly been cancelled as a result. This is coming from outlet
News Xbox Layoffs Begin As Phil Spencer Shares Internal Microsoft Gaming Update
"Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues"
Brace yourselves, folks - Microsoft is in the midst of announcing another round of layoffs across multiple Xbox divisions. For now, Activision's King team and some of Bethesda's ZeniMax marketing team are seemingly affected, with Phil Spencer addressing impacted employees in a lengthy...
News Forza Motorsport Studio Said To Be 'Bracing' For Job Cuts At Xbox
"I've heard from sources"
The report about imminent Xbox layoffs is unsurprisingly sparking off a lot of discussion on social media and various other communities right now, and various industry reporters are continuing to reveal what they've heard so far. Following Bloomberg's report about the layoffs, and industry veteran George Broussard...
News Imminent Xbox Layoffs Could Include Entire Studios, Warns Industry Veteran
"Good luck to all involved. Brutal."
Back on Tuesday, it was reported that Microsoft could be making major layoffs throughout the Xbox division at some point next week, and industry veteran George Broussard has now chimed in with what he knows about the situation. Broussard, who worked on the likes of Duke Nukem, Max Payne and Prey back in the day,...
Report Xbox Suffering Major Layoffs Next Week, Microsoft Declines To Comment
"Managers within Xbox are expecting substantial cuts"
We've had a lot of great Xbox news recently, but there's a report about job cuts doing the rounds today courtesy of Bloomberg which sadly says "major layoffs" are expected throughout the Xbox division at some point next week. The report specifically mentions that managers within Xbox are...
News It Sounds Like MindsEye Is Leading To Major Layoffs At The Studio
Potentially 100+ of the 500 staff
It probably won't come as much of a surprise to hear that MindsEye, which is one of the most controversial Xbox games of 2025 so far, is apparently leading to mass layoffs at the new development studio Build a Rocket Boy. A report from IGN mentions that over 100 employees are potentially affected according to...
News Microsoft Has Announced More Layoffs In Its Gaming Division, Says New Report
Amount of job cuts not specified
During 2024, Microsoft made heavy job cuts across multiple divisions including Xbox, and a new report suggests that this culling of staff isn't stopping into the new year. First reported on by Business Insider (paywalled) and shared by GamesIndustry.
Rumour Microsoft Employees 'Completely Confused' About New Xbox Strategy, Says Insider
"Most employees I have spoken to..."
Xbox seems to be chopping and changing its overall strategy quite a lot these days, with numerous multiplatform ports marking one of the biggest changes internally over at Team Green. While the almost-constant shifting is proving to be somewhat confusing for the fanbase, as it turns out, it might actually be...
News Xbox Reportedly Told To 'Go Dark' On Social Media Following Latest Round Of Layoffs
To avoid another "Feel the Burn" incident
Earlier today, it was reported that 650 employees were being laid off from Microsoft Gaming, with many of those said to be from Activision Blizzard. Things have been pretty quiet ever since, and it seems there's a good reason for that. According to The Verge's Tom Warren, Xbox's social media teams were told...
News Microsoft Layoffs Are Reportedly Affecting Team Xbox
Along with other divisions of the company
Microsoft has reportedly initiated a number of layoffs across various divisions, including the Xbox team. According to a report by Business Insider, the internal shift amounts to "less than" 1,000 employee redundancies at Microsoft. As mentioned, Xbox is apparently one of the divisions to suffer, alongside...
