Summary
Microsofthas reportedly laid off even more employees across its gaming, security, and sales divisions. The past few years have been a difficult time for video game employees, with many companies likeMicrosoftannouncing sweeping layoffs in 2024 alone. The included studios include big-name developers and smaller indie companies alike, with some of the most recent cuts being from the likes ofPredator: Hunting Groundsdeveloper IllFonic andOutridersstudio People Can Fly. Earlier this month, Rocksteady announced another round of layoffs in the wake ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s divisive reception.
One of the biggest companies to be hit with layoffs recently is Microsoft, which has been reportedly cutting back on its Xbox workforce since the start of 2024. Last January,Microsoft announced that 1,900 staffinvolved in its Xbox gaming division would be let go, including those working at acquired subsidiaries like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. In September, 650 employees were laid off from Microsoft, this time from corporate and support positions at Activision Blizzard.
Now another round of Microsoft layoffs might have just taken place, according to a new report fromBusiness Insider(viaGamesIndustry.biz). A Microsoft spokesperson reportedly said that these latest cuts would impact a small number of staff members, but didn’t specify how many employees would be laid off this time. These new layoffs are also unconnected to a previous round of cuts announced earlier this month, which was centered around underperforming workers whomight not have been connected to Xbox.
Microsoft Could Be Laying Off More Xbox Employees
Microsoft’s ongoing wave of layoffs is especially noteworthy due to the company’s recent acquisitions of major publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, as well as the news that Microsoft reached $3 trillion in market value shortly after the massive January 2024 layoffs. This first wave of cuts led toMicrosoft receiving complaints from the FTC, which initially sought to use the layoffs at Activision Blizzard as grounds to halt or reverse Microsoft’s highly publicized merger with theCall of Dutypublisher.
Other past Microsoft layoffs affected Xbox’s physical retail teams, as well as most ofBlizzard’s customer service teamand in-house developers like Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Blizzard’s unnamed survival game, codenamedProject Odyssey, was also canceled in the wake of these layoffs. The number of employees reportedly affected by this latestMicrosoftlayoff news has yet to be confirmed, and it remains a mystery what impact it might have on the Xbox gaming division.
