Microsoft's Recent Layoffs Continue Across Multiple Divisions
Reports indicate Microsoft has conducted another round of layoffs affecting its gaming, security, and sales departments. The exact number of employees impacted remains undisclosed. Significantly, these job cuts are separate from a previous layoff announcement earlier in January.
The gaming industry has experienced considerable turmoil in recent years, with numerous companies, including Microsoft, implementing significant workforce reductions in 2024. This has affected both large studios and smaller independent developers, with recent examples including IllFonic (Predator: Hunting Grounds) and People Can Fly (Outriders). Rocksteady also recently announced further layoffs following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Microsoft itself has been streamlining its Xbox workforce since the beginning of 2024. A substantial layoff of 1,900 Xbox division employees occurred in January, encompassing staff from acquired companies like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. A further 650 corporate and support employees at Activision Blizzard were let go in September.
A Business Insider report (via GamesIndustry.biz) suggests another, smaller round of layoffs has recently occurred. While a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the cuts, the precise number of affected employees remains unannounced. These latest reductions are distinct from earlier January cuts targeting underperforming employees outside the Xbox division.
Further Impact on Xbox Remains Unclear
Microsoft's ongoing layoffs are particularly notable given its recent acquisitions of major publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, and its achievement of a $3 trillion market valuation shortly after the January 2024 layoffs. The initial wave of cuts drew FTC scrutiny, with the regulator initially attempting to use the Activision Blizzard layoffs to oppose or reverse Microsoft's acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher.
Previous Microsoft layoffs impacted Xbox's physical retail teams, most of Blizzard's customer service, and internal development studios such as Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Blizzard's unannounced survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was also canceled. The scale and ultimate effect of this latest round of layoffs on the Xbox gaming division remain to be seen.
