Summary
- Microsoft has reportedly conducted further layoffs impacting its gaming, security, and sales divisions.
- The exact number of employees affected remains undisclosed.
- These layoffs are separate from the January cuts.
Microsoft has reportedly implemented another round of layoffs across its gaming, security, and sales divisions. The past few years have been challenging for the video game industry, with numerous companies, including Microsoft, announcing significant job cuts in 2024. This has affected both large studios and smaller indie developers, with recent examples including IllFonic (Predator: Hunting Grounds) and People Can Fly (Outriders). Earlier this month, Rocksteady also announced layoffs following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Microsoft itself has been reducing its Xbox workforce since the beginning of 2024. In January 2024, the company announced the dismissal of 1,900 Xbox division employees, including staff at acquired subsidiaries like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. A further 650 corporate and support employees at Activision Blizzard were laid off in September.
A new report from Business Insider (via GamesIndustry.biz) suggests another round of layoffs at Microsoft. While a spokesperson stated the impact would be limited, the precise number of affected employees remains unconfirmed. Importantly, these cuts are distinct from earlier January layoffs targeting underperforming employees outside the Xbox division.
Microsoft Could Be Laying Off More Xbox Employees
Microsoft's ongoing layoffs are particularly noteworthy given its recent acquisitions of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, and its achievement of a $3 trillion market valuation shortly after the major January 2024 layoffs. The initial wave of cuts drew FTC scrutiny, with the regulator initially attempting to use the Activision Blizzard layoffs as grounds to oppose the Microsoft-Activision merger.
Previous Microsoft layoffs impacted Xbox's physical retail teams, most of Blizzard's customer service, and internal development studios like Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Blizzard's unannounced survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was also canceled. The scale of the latest layoffs remains unconfirmed, and their impact on the Xbox gaming division is currently unknown.
