More Xbox Layoffs to come?

Will there be more layoffs at Xbox in the next year?

  • Yes

    Votes: 186 96.4%

  • No

    Votes: 7 3.6%
  • Total voters
    193
It depends on how many billions of profit they will win in the next quarter of course.

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S SneakersSO is pretty spot on when it comes to a track record.

This is some alarming stuff.

What doesn't make sense is why the buyout, if you're gonna layoff most of them and have all the IP sitting limbo without being in business?

Modern AGI is not mature enough to replace entire teams, with designers, artists and system programmers.

They're on their way to become the most hated company in the U.S., if not, the world.
 
Crazy to think how bad management can kill any business, even someone the size of Microsoft backing up the Xbox brand. How did Microsoft let the situation get this dire before making a decision of restructuring the whole thing?

I'm still baffled because the writing has been on the wall since the Don Mattrick debacle and the handling of IPs in the Xbox One era.
 
Lionel Richie said:
End the brand. Sell assets, not to a single buyer, but branch shit out across multiple publishers. Stop this shit, this is just sad.
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Tango Gameworks Inc luckily moved on to Krafton and they let Toys for bob become independent last year at least. The Initiative they probably couldn't sell because they had a nonexistent track record of releases and not a good one for their unreleased project. What could they sell? MS loves hoarding IP and will be dependent on their big ones like CoD for the foreseeable future.
 
Three said:
Tango Gameworks Inc luckily moved on to Krafton and they let Toys for bob become independent last year at least. The Initiative they probably couldn't sell because they had a nonexistent track record of releases and not a good one for their unreleased project. What could they sell? MS loves hoarding IP and will be dependent on their big ones like CoD for the foreseeable future.
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Maybe they won't sell, but they should license out IPs not unlike Konami is doing. I think Konami is obviously too focused on remakes and I don't think that's a great route, but Microsoft could do something similar for their IPs to get some needed support. This is just a random suggestion to illustrate my point so don't think I gave it some DEEP thought about it, but maybe get Owlcat Games to do a CRPG take on Fallout. Get the Amid Evil guys to do Heretic. You know, shit like that. Microsoft doesn't have the Nintendo Touch, they clearly have no creative direction that lets them properly control the quality of their games. So let other people try it, work out a good deal that benefit both sides. It shouldn't be impossible.
 
Roman Empire said:
Crazy to think how bad management can kill any business, even someone the size of Microsoft backing up the Xbox brand. How did Microsoft let the situation get this dire before making a decision of restructuring the whole thing?

I'm still baffled because the writing has been on the wall since the Don Mattrick debacle and the handling of IPs in the Xbox One era.
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Peter Moore left in 2007, things unravelled very quickly

5 years later we all saw the result

 
DR3AM said:
There will also be hirings
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Yes, of course. Let's hire people in the studios we just closed, along with their projects. Amazing thinking.

Unless you are talking in general, then wtf this has to do with the crises that just happened? Every company in the world will hire and fire people. wtf that comment was for ?
 
//DEVIL// said:
Yes, of course. Let's hire people in the studios we just closed, along with their projects. Amazing thinking.

Unless you are talking in general, then wtf this has to do with the crises that just happened? Every company in the world will hire and fire people. wtf that comment was for ?
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It's become this weird, frankly downright stupid refrain I'm seeing more and more of. "Well, they're still hiring - all this layoff talk is overblown!" As though they can't see two fucking feet in front of themselves. When layoffs happen, you're not just shedding random people, you are eroding team culture, losing huge amounts of institutional knowledge, killing morale, and oftentimes shuttering entire divisions or reshuffling how the organization as a whole operates. The fact that you are continuing to hire does not do a single fucking thing to offset those losses.
 
Probably - Laura whoever was right in that if your game didn't show up at the showcase in June, you are probably in trouble.

I'm worried about Ninja Theory, Compulsion, and Undead Labs.
 
Dr. Wilkinson said:
I love how I get disciplined on this site for making actual, thoughtful remarks I sincerely believe in, explaining exactly why I'm saying what i'm saying, and backing it up with information.

…And then there's *this*. Makes no sense whatsoever. 🤦‍♂️
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It was the correct response for someone trying to downplaying what's going on with 9000 more people laid off and entire studios being closed down.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
We'll see another big layoff round - similar to this one in scale - within the next 12 months.
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At this point, I honestly think Phil cannot wait to retire. But feels like he just can't leave things like this. Definitely will want to stay til things solidify and see how the third party hardware partnerships go the next couple years.
 
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Dr. Wilkinson said:
At this point, I honestly think Phil cannot wait to retire. But feels like he just can't leave things like this. Definitely will want to stay til things solidify and see how the third party hardware partnerships go the next couple years.
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I doubt things will solidify ever. This seems like a downward spiral to me, to be honest.

And if the last 5-10 years have anything to go by, we should have very little hope that things will suddenly turn around for the good. The Xbox Series launched looked like a really bright spot where they had a lot of momentum, but they missed that golden chance.

As far as Phil goes, I say he has the perfect job!
  • He has zero accountability.
  • He can fail at every turn and can still keep his job.
  • Not just that, he is failing upward. Promoted from Head of Studios to Head of Xbox to CEO of Microsoft Gaming, while the Xbox brand kept going down.
  • I doubt he has to work very hard either.
  • And on top of that, he is literally earning millions and millions of dollars every year.
What we wouldn't give to be in a position like him?

I think that's the reason he isn't retiring anytime soon.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
I doubt things will solidify ever. This seems like a downward spiral to me, to be honest.

And if the last 5-10 years have anything to go by, we should have very little hope that things will suddenly turn around for the good. The Xbox Series launched looked like a really bright spot where they had a lot of momentum, but they missed that golden chance.

As far as Phil goes, I say he has the perfect job!
  • He has zero accountability.
  • He can fail at every turn and can still keep his job.
  • Not just that, he is failing upward. Promoted from Head of Studios to Head of Xbox to CEO of Microsoft Gaming, while the Xbox brand kept going down.
  • I doubt he has to work very hard either.
  • And on top of that, he is literally earning millions and millions of dollars every year.
What we wouldn't give to be in a position like him?

I think that's the reason he isn't retiring anytime soon.
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I think he'd prefer to use Reggie as the ideal model for how to retire in good stead. And look at Trenton, Reggie, Ryan, they all retired having left when things were going very well. Trenton left after the PS4 launched and their console business was salvaged, Reggie left after the Switch launched and clearly Ninrendo was poised to keep growing the Switch and the business was very, very successful. Ryan left once the PS5 was off and running, making more than PS4 ever did, and swinging for the fences launching PSVR 2, live service pivot, and PS5 Pro in deep development.

Phil will surely want that for himself.
 
jm89 said:
Probably next year satya will do it to fund his AI obsession
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When will Double Fine look to self-finance and do the Bungie thing of trying to rip itself off from its corporate owner? Oh, to be a fly on the wall at all these small studios that were riding high in 2019 with that sweet, sweet Xbox safety net money.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
I doubt things will solidify ever. This seems like a downward spiral to me, to be honest.
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It's been a downward spiral since the early stages of the gen. Arguably before then. As soon as they bet everything on Gamepass, they were cooked. As soon as the XBO failed, actually, they were cooked. Gamepass just extended and broadened the scale of the decline.

Now, they're in a position where they can't promise as much. Starfield and COD, games that would've been multiplats anyway, are actually underperforming in both sales and impact on Gamepass subs or even engagement. Most of their more genuine first party teams have recently and have also come up short if not completely tanking ala Ninja Theory, Compulsion and Obsidian.

When games like E-Day and Fable come out after 6-9 years of development time, they will genuinely have nothing to offer besides the annual COD, which has already taken a pipeline hit.

Dr. Wilkinson said:
When will Double Fine look to self-finance and do the Bungie thing of trying to rip itself off from its corporate owner? Oh, to be a fly on the wall at all these small studios that were riding high in 2019 with that sweet, sweet Xbox safety net money.
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Psychonauts 2 flopped and their next game looks like a total dud.
 
At it's peak, a PC division for the most part. They have to keep it clean which is PC vs Console. Can't second guess their capability to improve the experience on PC cause they could make it happen even better than the current Xbox+ PC experience combined.
 
Dr. Wilkinson said:
I think he'd prefer to use Reggie as the ideal model for how to retire in good stead. And look at Trenton, Reggie, Ryan, they all retired having left when things were going very well. Trenton left after the PS4 launched and their console business was salvaged, Reggie left after the Switch launched and clearly Ninrendo was poised to keep growing the Switch and the business was very, very successful. Ryan left once the PS5 was off and running, making more than PS4 ever did, and swinging for the fences launching PSVR 2, live service pivot, and PS5 Pro in deep development.

Phil will surely want that for himself.
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I'm sure he will want to have a good legacy, but this seems like a really far-fetched dream right now. Honestly, I don't see any possible future where Xbox is considered a stable, profitable division - one that is significantly improved than the current state.

And even if Phil somewhat improves the situation, I think he will always be remembered for these layoffs and how he couldn't improve Xbox's position from #3 in his decades-long career. That, and ABK, I think.
 
SkillUp wiping his brow, metaphorically, in his video about Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine being "spared" but I really don't share his optimism.

South of Midnight got the usual decent critic scores but didn't move the needle commercially. I imagine most people who played it only did so because it was on Game Pass. Five years for South of Midnight's middling response doesn't bode well for them. As far as I know, Compulsion doesn't have anything else in the development pipeline.

Ninja Theory's next project has supposedly been green lit but as this last week has shown us that means Jack Shit to the Microsoft team when they make their decisions. I suspect they'll be downsized as soon as Hellblade 2's PS5 port is out and they'll turn into a support studio for other Microsoft studios, specifically in motion capture.

Double Fine… as soon as Keeper comes out (and probably flops, based on internet reactions to the gameplay), I think they'll be told to either make something "safe" (e.g. Psychonauts 3) or face being shut down.
 
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ProtoByte said:
Psychonauts 2 flopped and their next game looks like a total dud.
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Important to note though, that Double Fine has never been a money-maker. They've always struggled to stay afloat. Xbox was this dream-like lifeline that allowed them to have the safety net of Xbox while continuing to make whatever the hell they wanted to make. That was my whole point.
 
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Nydius said:
Double Fine… as soon as Keeper comes out (and probably flops, based on internet reactions to the gameplay), I think they'll be told to either make something "safe" (e.g. Psychonauts 3) or face being shut down.
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Lmao in what context would Psychonauts be considered "safe"? The first two didn't sell. It survives purely on critical acclaim and a very small group of people who played and enjoyed it on Xbox in 2005. Xbox bought them knowing full well it was not a decision based on a strong balance sheet and lucrative products.
 
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I honestly don't even see the point of buying Bethesda at this point. The whole argument at the time was it would greatly improve their first-party muscle and they "got" the golden goose known as BGS, where they could make Starfield and all future titles Xbox and PC exclusive.

That entire thing is completely flipped on its head now, I have no idea what the strategy is anymore.

Clearly there isn't one. Other than a lot of panic buttons being hit with no clear direction of what the long-term plan is for the Xbox Business.
 
The job cuts seen in the last week needs to be understood in the greater context of what is causing it: a combination of downsizing following post-COVID hiring sprees, and a push to invest into automation and AI. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost across the tech industry. I realise that people are framing it as a reflection of Xbox's failing business, but the job cuts have also hit Activision and the makers of the wildly successful Candy Crush: King will lose 10% of its entire workforce.

We've had bigger job losses specifically as a result of the video game industry....

In the same period as above, 35,000 jobs have been lost in the video game industry, directly impacting prices and pushing the tilt towards live-service models. PlayStation cut 900 jobs in Feb 2024, with further layoffs affecting leaving the total to around 1,500 in total. Again, context here is important; those job cuts were due to the "state of the industry". It's sort of expected, like how many Microsoft cut 1,900 jobs at Actvision/Blizzard after the acquisition. In fact, Xbox closed more studios in 2024 than this week; Tango Studios, Arkane Studios etc. They followed it up with a further 650 cuts affecting Support staff.

This round of layoffs are not directly caused by gaming industry factors, but their seems to be a greater reaction. But why?

I suspect its due to dormant frustration and apathy from Xbox fans over the last 12 months, following the third party tilt, and uncertainty over Xbox's hardware next-gen, coming out: any negative news now, regardless of the true cause, is being filtered through that lens of concern and anxiety, making it feel like proof of wider problems.
 
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