Following reports that further job cuts were imminent at Xbox, Microsoft has confirmed more sweeping changes as its major restructuring continues. As a result, some Xbox studios will combine, others are set for closure, and 268 more layoffs have been announced.
In July, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced job cuts affecting 3,200 employees as part of what she called the “most significant” restructuring the company had ever undertaken. 1,600 of those layoffs were effective immediately, while some first-pary studios, including Double Fine and Compulsion Games, were permitted to go independent again.
And with the threat of 1,600 more cuts hanging over the heads of remaining employees, Sharma has swung the axe again. This time, layoffs will affect 268 employees across Halo Studios, other unspecified first-party studios, and members of Xbox Game Studios‘ “management and central functions layer”.
As part of the latest changes, many Xbox studios have undergone reorganisation. In a note to employees shared on the Xbox blog, Xbox executive vice president and chief content officer Matt Booty explained that Sea of Thieves developer Rare and Age of Empires/Mythology studio World’s Edge now fall within Activision’s remit, Playground and Turn 10 will join together to focus on Forza and Fable, and Bethesda will oversee Obsidian, which continues to work on its current projects including Grounded, and will collaborate with Bethesda Game Studios on a new Fallout project.
Additionally, the next Halo game will be developed by Activision, led by a “new, purpose-built team” away from Call of Duty. A “small” remaining team at Halo Studios will support “the Halo community and games in-market”.
Booty said these latest changes were designed to “strengthen our franchises and games by operating fewer business units, aligning groups that already work closely together, and focusing our publishing expertise.” He also offered an update on two first-party studios whose fates have remained in limbo following July’s sweeping job cuts, and it’s bad news.
Hellblade developer Ninja Theory is now facing “proposed closure” after two separate agreements fell through, and Microsoft is beginning consultation with employees as it continues to explore “other paths forward”. Consultation with Arkane, the studio behind the likes of Dishonored and Deathloop, “remains underway and is expected to continue through the end of the year.”
Today’s news – which is said to bring Microsoft “roughly three-quarters of the way through previously announced restructuring” – marks more losses following July’s devastating job cuts, and suggests more than 1,300 employees could still be facing layoffs before the process is through.
