Summary
- Microsoft has reportedly laid off more employees across its gaming, security, and sales divisions.
- It's unclear how many employees have been impacted.
- These new layoffs are also unconnected to a previous round of cuts announced earlier in January.
Microsoft has reportedly laid off even more employees across its gaming, security, and sales divisions, marking another challenging period for the video game industry. Throughout 2024, numerous companies, including Microsoft, have announced significant layoffs affecting a wide range of studios from major developers to smaller indie outfits. Notable recent cuts have impacted teams like IllFonic, the developer behind Predator: Hunting Grounds, and People Can Fly, known for Outriders. Additionally, Rocksteady faced another round of layoffs following the mixed reception to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Microsoft, in particular, has been reducing its workforce in the Xbox division since the beginning of 2024. In January, the company announced the layoff of 1,900 staff members involved in Xbox gaming, including employees at newly acquired subsidiaries such as Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. A further 650 employees were let go in September from corporate and support roles at Activision Blizzard.
According to a recent report from Business Insider (via GamesIndustry.biz), Microsoft has initiated another round of layoffs. A spokesperson mentioned that these cuts would affect a small number of staff members, though specific numbers were not disclosed. Importantly, these layoffs are separate from those announced earlier in the month, which targeted underperforming workers not necessarily linked to the Xbox division.
Microsoft Could Be Laying Off More Xbox Employees
The ongoing layoffs at Microsoft are particularly significant given the company's recent acquisitions of major publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. These layoffs come shortly after Microsoft achieved a $3 trillion market valuation following the substantial January 2024 layoffs. The initial wave of cuts also drew scrutiny from the FTC, which attempted to use the layoffs at Activision Blizzard as a basis to challenge or reverse Microsoft’s merger with the Call of Duty publisher.
Previous layoffs at Microsoft have affected various sectors, including Xbox’s physical retail teams, most of Blizzard’s customer service team, and in-house developers like Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. The cancellation of Blizzard’s survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was another consequence of these layoffs. The exact number of employees affected by the most recent layoffs remains undisclosed, and the potential impact on the Xbox gaming division is still uncertain.
