Microsoft has announced job cuts at Xbox Division

Punished Miku said:
They have to be a bit stricter, even as a 3rd party. Sega did the same thing. It's pretty much common sense. A 1st party platform with 30% passive income on everything and a system to sell can take more risks on niche products. This is what I always criticized Sony for not doing. You can do more of the new IPs and more commercially experimental stuff. Now they have less room for that. It's a sad reality. Hopefully they preserve as much as they can. Call of Duty revenue is absolutely helping them preserve some of it, instead of all of that money just going back to the Activision black hole.
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It's the reality they themselves chose when acquiring a huge bememoth like ABK. This is not pre-2020 MSFT pivoting to a third-party publishing business model after another failed generation in a row with little effect on its development workforce, this is an utterly bloated, merged XBS/Zenimax/ABK pivoting to an <<optimized>> production workflow, as the division WANTS to make (more) money!
This would have happened regardless of Xbox Series' sales, because you have zero need to invest on new stuff when you eat half of the industry's valuable IPs in terms of relative revenue. And when that mindset comes in, layoffs tend to happen.
It's kinda amazing how Microsoft managed to convince an entire set of Xbox fans that they're not Microsoft as we truly know them.
 
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simpatico said:
Well you can imagine what happens when the one side finally looks around and does some accounting on what the hell has happened in the last 30 years. Would love to redirect this thing and avoid that timeline. There's still a chance.
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Some of us have been trying to tell yall this for years to no avail. Meritocracy is a lie. Corporations in America never believed in it.

kruis said:
That's the thing with foreign born CEOs, they don't have that deep, unspoken bond with the citizens of the country they live in. There's not that a feeling of community that would lead them to change or soften hard hitting decisions that would impact local communities. 1000 jobs for US workers or cheaper 1000 jobs in India ... My guess is a US born CEO would look at that question differently than a CEO who born in Asia.
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Have yall been paying attention to what American born CEOs have been doing with American jobs over the last 30 years? LOL!
 
Wastelander92 said:
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And deleted

Excited Wesley Snipes GIF by BBQ Films
 
Can't see deleted bsky post, but I guess it said Blade cancelled.

Don't know who that guy is but it goes against what's reported by french journalists



edit - forgot to translate lol

"Good news : A source confirms to me that the Arkane Lyon and MachineGames studios are not impacted by the job cuts going on at Xbox."
 
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Buggy Loop said:
Can't see deleted bsky post, but I guess it said Blade cancelled.

Don't know who that guy is but it goes against what's reported by french journalists



edit - forgot to translate lol

"Good news : A source confirms to me that the Arkane Lyon and MachineGames studios are not impacted by the job cuts going on at Xbox."
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Yeah, sounds like a false alarm
 
www.windowscentral.com

Microsoft is closing down Xbox studio The Initiative, with Perfect Dark killed as well — joining Everwild and ZeniMax's new IP, and other unannounced projects

Microsoft is closing down The Initiative, after 7 years. The partnership with Crystal Dynamics will end, and "Perfect Dark" will be cancelled.
www.windowscentral.com www.windowscentral.com

Perfect Dark cancellation confirmed.

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Microsoft is closing down Xbox studio The Initiative, with Perfect Dark killed as well — joining Everwild and ZeniMax's IP, and 'several' other projects
News

By Jez Corden published 4 minutes ago​

Microsoft is closing down The Initiative, after 7 years. The partnership with Crystal Dynamics will end, and "Perfect Dark" will be cancelled.

Earlier, we reported exclusively that Perfect Dark was on the chopping block as part of Microsoft's latest round of cuts. Now, we can confirm the sad news.

Today, Microsoft revealed broad layoffs hitting 4% of its global workforce, across every division at the company. Many of those layoffs are hitting Xbox, with staffers in various departments receiving notice today. Many of those affected include Xbox studio The Initiative, which is sadly being closed down.

Perfect Dark was set to be a revival of Rare's classic stealth IP from the early 2000s. The team at The Initiative was set up in 2018 with studio heavyweights including leader Darrell Gallagher, of Tomb Raider fame. Gallagher's former team at Crystal Dynamics was working together with Microsoft on Perfect Dark, and that partnership will now also conclude.

Microsoft is shutting down The Initiative as a result of the game's cancellation. Microsoft says it will work with staffers to provide severance and support, and has encouraged developers affected to apply for other Xbox positions within the company — to receive priority consideration.

Xbox Games Studio head Matt Booty shared the following email internally, confirming that Rare IP Everwild, Perfect Dark, and other "unannounced projects" have been cancelled. Windows Central understands that one of these projects was ZeniMax Online's new MMORPG Blackbird, previously meant to succeed The Elder Scrolls Online.


"Following Phil's note, I want to share more about the changes to the Studios business units.

We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.

Our overall portfolio strategy is unchanged: build games that excite our players, continue to grow our biggest franchises, and create new stories, worlds, and characters. We have more than 40 projects in active development, continued momentum on titles shipping this fall, and a strong slate headed into 2026.

For those directly affected, we are working closely with HR and studio leadership to provide support, including severance, career transition assistance, and where possible, opportunities to explore roles on other teams.

To everyone across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to define who we are. I believe in the strength of our teams and the direction we're taking on the path ahead."


Everything shown in the recent Xbox Showcase from June is "safe" according to our sources, including upcoming Xbox games like Clockwork Revolution, and other previously announced games like State of Decay 3. We've seen positions in QA get hit in Activision and Blizzard teams, as well as marketing and sales, and Undead Labs has reportedly received a round of layoffs as well despite the fact the upcoming zombie apocalypse simulator's development remains ongoing. Turn 10 has also seen a wide array of layoffs, after Forza Motorsport received mixed reviews from sim racing fans. Microsoft has made cuts in its gaming managerial and producer layers, with staff roles in production and game management being reduced.

Microsoft's big layoff round has hit 9,000 staffers in various divisions, from Azure to Xbox, although information shared with us suggests that Xbox's next-gen console hardware plans remain unaffected.

It's another tough time for all those affected, and another bruise on Microsoft's record. Despite reporting record profits, Microsoft has laid off over 15,000 people in 2025.
 
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Well that explains why we didn't see anything from Perfect Dark at their not-E3 show.

I really hope The Coalition isn't next. I'm actually excited about Gears E-Day.
 
Man this just sucks. I guess the writing was kinda on the wall once MS essentially capitulated and decided to become a 3rd party publisher, but even then you'd think they'd still want to make games
 
LordCBH said:
I thought there was one between 6 and now. Anyway. Really enjoyed 6 and 5.
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6 was good but not X360 era great. Looking at the MC user scores for the franchise, it seems Motorsport fell off hard after the 360 era with only 6 being a decent entry.

FM1: 8.3, FM2: 7.9, FM3: 8.2, FM4: 8.4
FM5: 6.1, FM6: 7.8, FM7: 6.6, FM8: 6.9

Man, the Xbox One generation really was a complete mess for Xbox that set the tone for the rest of the brand. 😐
 
TheMan said:
Man this just sucks. I guess the writing was kinda on the wall once MS essentially capitulated and decided to become a 3rd party publisher, but even then you'd think they'd still want to make games
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Obviously they want to make games. They just seem incapable of actually getting games finished that are worth putting out.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
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Always seemed like this studio was poorly managed, so I'm not surprised. Microsoft is cutting to the bone to get the gaming division as profitable as possible. It doesn't seem like revenue and market share or game pass subs mean as much to them as profitability, and I'm sure releases like Indiana Jone and South of Midnight and Hellblade 2 barely moved the needle on copies sold and new subscribers. No doubt they expected similar mediocre results from Perfect Dark and Everwild.
 
nowhat said:
Layoffs are not to be celebrated, sucks for the involved and all that.

But King had 2000 employees? Doing... what?
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Don't mind the amount of people they had over there considering the truckloads of cash that stupid ass game get from people hooked to it, even the grandmas with barely any tech knowlodge play that crap :pie_roffles:
 
TheMan said:
Man this just sucks. I guess the writing was kinda on the wall once MS essentially capitulated and decided to become a 3rd party publisher, but even then you'd think they'd still want to make games
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Just my 2 cents this has nothing to do with 3rd party or hardware or anything other than shitty games
 
So if they're cutting this hard, does it seem likely we'll see more changes coming to Game Pass? Do they rip the band-aid off and announce no more Day 1 first party games?
 
I think the Xbox division is dead, and Microsoft just needs to make it official. My guess is they'll only develop smaller‑scale games for other platforms and license the brand to other manufacturers
 
marjo said:
In my opinion, anytime mass layoffs occur, it should be viewed as a complete failure in the leadership team, and they should face the consequences. Instead, they are usually rewarded with bigger bonuses.
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Its going to lead to more employment laws in the US.

Laying people off at the pace these companies are doing it isn't going to end well in the long term.
 
Nydius said:
6 was good but not X360 era great. Looking at the MC user scores for the franchise, it seems Motorsport fell off hard after the 360 era with only 6 being a decent entry.

FM1: 8.3, FM2: 7.9, FM3: 8.2, FM4: 8.4
FM5: 6.1, FM6: 7.8, FM7: 6.6, FM8: 6.9

Man, the Xbox One generation really was a complete mess for Xbox that set the tone for the rest of the brand. 😐
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I bought my Xbox One when GameStop was doing a bundle with FM5 lol. I played a LOT of FM5
 
mayham2199 said:
Not surprised by this either. The Marvel movie is already in a rough shape and Phil has made it known he's not a fan of licensed IP because it doesn't make sense when gamepass is involved.
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And this is another reason why Game Pass is so destructive. It allows the executives to not want to do certain types of games because they don't fit the Game Pass description business model.
 
www.theverge.com

Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport developer hit hard by Xbox cuts

Turn 10 is being hit by layoffs.
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com

Microsoft announced layoffs today affecting as many as 9,000 employees, and as part of the changes, more than 70 people will be let go at Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The cuts were made on a call with Microsoft HR representatives this morning, and are hitting the "vast majority" of the studio. One source described the layoffs as leaving enough people behind to keep Forza Motorsport up and running.

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Looks like the remaining people at Turn 10 Studios are there to keep the current game up and running. It's a GAAS after all. But there's probably not enough man power to work at a new Forza game.
 
adamsapple said:
Goddamn.

What a money sink. Half a decade, put a second known quantity studio to help out, but still not progressed enough to be salvaged.
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The cancellation of Perfect Dark will have repercussions for that second known quantity studio. There'll be tons of people out of work at Crystal Dynamics now.
 
Nydius said:
6 was good but not X360 era great. Looking at the MC user scores for the franchise, it seems Motorsport fell off hard after the 360 era with only 6 being a decent entry.

FM1: 8.3, FM2: 7.9, FM3: 8.2, FM4: 8.4
FM5: 6.1, FM6: 7.8, FM7: 6.6, FM8: 6.9

Man, the Xbox One generation really was a complete mess for Xbox that set the tone for the rest of the brand. 😐
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I wouldn't give FM5-8 the same scores, but I will agree that FM6 was the only actually good one after the 360 generation. It's interesting that when GTS launched for PS4 people thought it's the end of that series and that Forza Motorsport will take the crown. Meanwhile GT 'returned to form' and is still very popular.
 
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