Xbox is laying off 3,200 employees and parting ways with four studios
In a post on Xbox Wire simply titled ‘Resetting Xbox’, Asha Sharma has revealed that a decision has been made to substantially reduce the head count across Xbox teams. 1,600 employees will unfortunately be let go today, with a further 1,600 to be job losses expected throughout the financial year. On top of that, four studios are leaving Xbox management.
It’s been announced that both Double Fine and Compulsion Games will return to being independent studios, with their management retaining their IPs and catalogues. When it comes to Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, both studios have entered terms to join new ownership, with funding in place to complete their respective games currently in development, being Senua and State of Decay 3.
As for other studios, Arkane is currently in consultation with the Works Council to review potential strategic options, while the likes of Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard and more will undergo reductions and possibly shift focus to higher priority projects. Mojang and King will also now report directly to Sharma, with it being revealed that in some parts of the company work has previously been passed though as many as 14 layers of management. Going ahead, this will be reduced to a maximum of five.
Ultimately, Xbox is aiming to be a flatter and more streamlined organisation, built around makers, player coaches and directly responsible individuals who own key decisions and outcomes. Along with other key changes, such as reduced vendor spend, Asha hopes that Xbox can be turned around, and states that “we’ll invest as much in Xbox as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making Xbox where the world plays and creates.”
Needless to say, it’s a big day for Xbox and its studios. Only time will tell if the changes made will have any real positive impact, but we’re happy that no studios are being closed – at least for now. Though with so many layoffs, it’s hard to consider any of this positive. Out thoughts go out to all those affected.
