Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs as Xbox spins off four game studios
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| Credit: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images |
Microsoft laid off 4,800 employees Monday, with more than 30 percent of the cuts in its Xbox division, according to an internal email reviewed by IGN.
The reductions, described internally as an Xbox "reset," will affect roughly 1,600 employees immediately, with the company planning to eliminate about 20 percent of Xbox jobs by the end of its 2027 fiscal year.
SEE ALSO:Xbox hopes to win back disaffected gamers with new disc-to-digital program
As part of the shakeup, four studios are being spun off from Microsoft. Double Fine and Compulsion Games are returning to independent ownership under founders Tim Schafer and Guillaume Provost, respectively, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are being sold to new owners, with commitments in place to continue development on their respective titles, Senua and State of Decay 3.
In an internal memo obtained by IGN, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the division's business "is not healthy," citing profit margins that are far below those of comparable platform and publishing companies. Sharma noted that Xbox lost 64 cents for every dollar invested in a typical year and pointed to oversaturation in the games market as a factor in the strategic pullback.
The memo also confirmed additional layoffs across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, and Mojang, though Sharma said no first-party announced games are being canceled. As part of a broader management shakeup, Mojang and King will now report directly to Sharma, and Helen Chiang has been named Xbox's first Chief Operating Officer.
IGN, which is owned also reported that Microsoft is weighing the sale or closure of Arkane Studios, which has been developing the delayed, over-budget title Blade. According to the outlet, French labor consultations over Arkane's future could take months.
(Disclosure: IGN and Mashable are both owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.)
Topics Microsoft Xbox Video Games
Hopefully they hire ppl that actually care about the game now 🙏
ReplyDeleteYou’d like to hope that all these devs that are being laid off would be able to create new game studios. But they’d just make a few good games and Microsoft would come back around to buy the new studio out. And the cycle repeats.
ReplyDeleteBethesda and obsidian losing so many staff is a worry to us older gamers that look forward to the next rendition of our favourite games.
Xbox would rather focus on sales to kids though, so they push games like Fortnite, Roblox and other slop.
Good. It's been long overdue. Now, here's hoping they realize the games that were being made weren't working and never did. Now it's time to turn up the heat on actual good video games. No live service. No fucking movie games with bullshit politics. Just fucking video games the way they're supposed to be made. Fun and with lots of the kind of content that keeps getting pushed back on. Because THAT'S WHAT SELLS.
ReplyDeleteWhy tf were they buying so many studios if they were operating at such huge losses? Why buy Activision Blizzard in 2023?
ReplyDeleteEpic Games content
ReplyDeleteChuds won, artsy games don't sell, politics shoehorned in don't sell, long live the true gaming culture.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't surprising. A vast majority of gaming industry news has been really depressing for a while. Not only that, but Satya Nadella's involvement in the investment of Copilot and helping John Hanke with his goals are making it possible.
ReplyDeleteWhy post paywalled articles? Isn't there like a million other places commenting this?
ReplyDeleteSony and Microsoft just sticking their feet in there collective asses
ReplyDeleteAt least none of the game studios got shut down at the very least.
ReplyDelete"operating at margins three to 10 times lower than comparable businesses"
ReplyDelete*still profitable btw
I think Xbox is going to get sunsetted. Great time for Sony to swoop in and buy up some studios or Nintendo.
ReplyDeleteThank you that’s a helpful tip!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAccording to this youtube post, Microsoft fired almost half of ID Software devs.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxI9_9WGs9mmvYhjfpdp6YI70YZhoTJ1O8
I think what we are seeing is both Playstation and Xbox begin to take the first steps into copying as much of Nintendo's current business model as they can:
ReplyDelete- Control the marketplace with the hardware and digital-only titles (Nintendo's not quite there with this one yet, but look at what they have done with recent cartridges serving as game keys, and you can tell where it is headed)
- Bait customers in with high-profile exclusive titles made by cherry-picked acquired studios
- Allow third party tiles to sell on their marketplace to increase content selection and make available library more appealing
- Exclusive first party titles remain at launch price, always
Next phase will probably be to forcefully move to subscription-based services
This is actually some of the best business decision making I've heard of. Asha is ensuring a lot of studios and people stay in work, while divesting XBOX's liabilities, and cutting the fat where it's clearly built up under Phil's tenureship.
ReplyDeleteComment deleted by user
ReplyDeleteI know right but still good console just need to fix a few issue.
DeleteThey were spending way to much money on studios making shitty games nobody cares about. The only issue I see with her plan is that good games take time. It could be three years until a game like Fallout is finished or even longer if they plan on a new IP. 343 notoriously takes a long ass time on their games too.
ReplyDeleteThey just cut more jobs now when all the people are hating on snoy.
ReplyDeletePeople used to say that Microsoft was going to make these studios better, now they say is a good thing they leave xbox, whatever they do is a good thing. This is why xbox is in such a bad and irrelevant state, nobody critizes them and push them to be better
ReplyDeleteBased.
ReplyDelete"We are operating at margins that are 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.
ReplyDeletein a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested."
geez
lol entire gaming industry in shambles. And here I am just enjoying loads of games on my switch 2 without any worries.
ReplyDeleteDivest?
ReplyDeleteAnd just like that Nintendo has come out looking like the best company again and balance has been restored. To think they were hated on for their price hikes a year ago.
ReplyDeleteI hope they got rid of the people that gave Xbox’s nonsensical names.
ReplyDeleteSome of this news actually gives me hope. MS was a bloated beast that was dragging down developers with every kind of politics.
ReplyDeleteIs there any juice left in the console business? Seems like a lot of compute in those boxes that can be squeezed for other purposes.
ReplyDeleteMan if they get rid of Arkane I will cry my eyes out... :(
ReplyDeleteMaking safe bland corporate products is all that will come from this. And more IP's get added to their hoard instead of being used.
ReplyDeletePlease let Zenimax go to. Don't want Microsoft to ruin it.
ReplyDeleteThought I read it was 4800 some where else
ReplyDeleteThis is slightly better news than expected - at least most of the studios will be able to continue working on their current games.
ReplyDeleteRumor is id software got hit pretty hard
ReplyDeleteHonestly, that's as good an outcome they could realistically get.
ReplyDeletewho the hell gave hellblade a green light for #2, it never sold well
ReplyDeleteHonestly just cut as many people as ot takes to.give us good games again.....
ReplyDeleteI miss the 360 era
This is good news to me. It sounds like they are going to get back to focusing on what made them great in the first place. Place all your time and investment in to what players want. I don’t need 5000 indie slop games. Give me a new fallout, new halo, new elder scrolls, and don’t let all the decisions about the game pass through 40 bureaucrats approval.
ReplyDeleteI bet they didn't "reset" the CEO and executives milionary bonus. Assholes.
ReplyDeleteThe brewery I work for is just a few blocks away from id's headquarters. A bunch of them are here drinking right now because they got laid off.
ReplyDeleteAsha may be our only hope at a proper Banjo Kazooie remake
ReplyDeleteHaha and everyone thought MS would save us from Sony's greed. Face facts, folks. Every corporation out there for every industry is run by evil greedy assholes and they have one goal: more for themselves, less for everyone else. Its time for us to stop buying their shit and find something else to do with our time so they lose all their money and go broke. But of course, we all know that ain't going to happen.
ReplyDeleteEveryone will still buy the PS6 and next XBox and all their games because FOMO. They got you all by the balls and they know it. They could spit in your faces in public and you'd all complain online about it but still buy their shit. I tapped out already. First refusal was the Switch 2. No thanks. Not even Ocarina can bring me back right now. Only lower and more fair prices for everything can.
I always thought the stupid console names after the 360 would kill them
ReplyDeleteAnd somehow the incompetent Matt Booty remains employed. Still. After all this bullshit.
ReplyDeleteMergers and acquisitions (M&A) frequently fail to achieve their intended business goals, with failure rates historically estimated between 70% and 90%. https://nakisa.com/blog/mergers-fail-more-often-than-marriages-3-key-factors-in-merger-success/
ReplyDeleteThe most common reasons for these outcomes include overpaying for the target company, poor cultural fit, and misaligned strategic visions following the deal.
Not a surprise based on this information. Microsoft should have stuck with limited time exclusivity deals like they did in the 360 era.
Ultimately these failures are the responsibility of MSFT's Board of Directors, who should never have approved of the various acquisitions.
DeleteIf uhhhhh Microsoft needs money, why not give Rare to, idk, Nintendo? Please? Its been over 20 years and aside from Rare Replay and maybe Sea of Thieves, have they done ANYTHING substantial?? Give them back!
ReplyDeleteSea of Thieves is one of the few Xbox games that's profitable.
DeleteGiving Rare to Nintendo is pointless since a lot of the talent is long gone by now.
DeleteBut selling Rare IP to Nintendo? That would be a smart move for sure. I imagine Nintendo would not be opposed to owning Banjo since it fits in perfectly with their ecosystem.
That said, ain't ever gonna happen. Microsoft can make more money long term by holding onto it and just licensing it out like they do currently.
A guy can hope and dream tho, i miss the golden era of Rare/Nintendo, some real bangers during that time.
DeleteI’m just happy that Undead Labs being sold instead of closed. Really hope that State of Decay 3 will be released eventually
ReplyDeleteSo the XBOX takes the shotgun from Sony, thus the cycle continues
ReplyDeleteits 1k and something that xbox is getting cut. rest is none xbox
ReplyDeletecant even get the number right !!!!
hell ceo of ms even said head count in post on twitter!
but gamers dont care about the facts or truth!
oh, looks like it's time to cancel gamepass.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great announcement, and it really settles that the people freaking out over the past few weeks were wrong.
ReplyDeleteGiving studios back to their founders and allowing them to become independent again is a solid move, and a far cry from the whining and temper tantrums being thrown around "closing studios" Though I wager the folks crying about that stuff were just doing so because they like to be upset about things.
Xbox had a great relationship with independent studios before and by all accounts continues to have a fairly good relationship with independent studios now. It's apparent that they were struggling to balance the level of control and independence when it comes to owning those studios however.
I think this is a great move for the brand.
Who would have thought that spending nearly 100 billion in acquisitions and dropping games with multi-hundred million dollar budgets on a subscription service was a bad idea?
ReplyDeleteAnother week, another post of layoffs
ReplyDeleteIt's an absolute bloodbath over there
ReplyDeleteThe lesson is going to eventually be that you can't buy up studios and expect them to poop out golden new gaming experiences like an assembly line. EA probably came closest with their franchising series, but even then there's a line of dead studios behind stuff like FIFA making them loot yearly that left red marks on EAs ledgers.
ReplyDeleteUntil then, enshittification continues and big companies will continue to absorb the resulting financial bombs.
"Ninja Theory ... have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua"
ReplyDeleteThats all I needed to see. This is a good move
You’re invited: Join Bloomberg's video-game industry reporter Jason Schreier and Bloomberg Tech's Edward Ludlow for a wide-ranging online conversation about the state of gaming in a Live Q&A on Tuesday, July 7 at 1 p.m EDT. Bring your questions and join the livestream here.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bloomberg.com/sessions/2026-07-02/is-microsoft-rethinking-xbox-ask-jason-schreier-live-q-a
Who would have thought spending billions on purchasing legacy game studios in the interest of platform exclusives was a bad idea…real question though, wouldn’t Microsoft have had more success funding Indy studios for a few new IPs over the next 5-10 years rather than buy fucking Bethesda or Blizzard for $80ish Billion? Seems kind of obvious, but I’m happy to hear the counter argument
ReplyDeleteLayoffs are never good.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it's good that, pending Arkane, none of these studios are closing and will be able to finish their games.
What is so complicated about making good games and offering good services to generate profit? When did that require all of these massive layoffs?
ReplyDeleteI mean, from what came out about Xbox a few weeks ago when all these rumors and reports started coming out, was that under previous Xbox leadership the direction given to the studios was "make good games. So even if they don't make much profit they can be added to gamepass to attract people there."
DeleteUnfortunately most of the games made weren't all that great, weren't profitable at all, and didn't bring anyone to gamepass.
"and didn't bring anyone to gamepass."
DeleteWhoa now there buddy. When Hi-Fi Rush was announced and released the same day it drew me to gamepass... By using the $1 for 1 month promotion which I immediately cancelled, and I didn't even play anything else on the service in that month.
Thanks Phil Spencer!
ReplyDeleteI'm most surprised they're taking the classical approach and divesting studios rather than the more common modern approach which would be to just shut them down entirely.
ReplyDeleteThis is... not actually that bad?
ReplyDeleteAside from the developers that were brought in and the studios they bought that are being affected, this seems like a good thing for the hobby. I can't disagree with what is being said about XBOX at all, it just sucks that so many people are going to be casualties in this because of mismanagement from the last 5-10 years.
ReplyDeleteMicrosoft recognizing that it was trying to do too much and shrinking itself down makes a lot of sense, and will likely result in better games from them. Xbox has been a bit of a joke for years now, and for good reason. If they were going to fix it, it was going to require a big correction.
Too much CoD slop
ReplyDeleteThese are all good changes. Xbox needed gutting.
ReplyDeleteXbox buying all those studios really began the downfall in gaming.
ReplyDeleteSony and Microsoft are really competing over who can ruin their brand quicker lol
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is in middle management, let me tell you that I fucking wish I would get a brass tacks, straight to the point email like this from our leaders every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteI cannot begin to fathom what navigating a company the size of Xbox with all of its subsidiaries, partners, vendors, international governing bodies and other support systems must be like.
Can they not let Activision blizzard buy itself out for even half the cost they paid??
ReplyDeleteThose are probably still profitable though, why get rid of them.
DeleteThere is a positive spin to the messaging around how they will flatten the hierarchy, but to put things into context, laying off 3,200 people is equivalent to shutting down:
ReplyDelete- Bethesda Game Studios (~500)
- Infinity Ward (~650)
- Playground Games (~450)
- Obsidian Entertainment (~300)
- The Coalition (~350)
- Mojang Studios (~600)
- Rare (~250)
So it is quite a bit more than just removing middle management.
Now do the same but list every single Xbox studio and their head count.
DeleteBut they are not laying of 3200 people?
DeleteThey literally are. And they’re also selling off five studios who will each have to fire people themselves.
DeleteHopefully this ends up being a good thing. Western AAA gaming is in a terrible spot, just classic American corporate structure/Private Equity/etc.
ReplyDeleteXbox tried to be netflix and squeeze consumers for every penny. It didn't work.
Playstation tried to have gamers playing 5 different live service games and squeeze consumers for every penny. It didnt work.
Nintendo made fun games that people wanted. It worked.
Hopefully they are waking up?
Theres just no reason at all you should have SO many people working on games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, etc and have THIS LONG between releases. Like genuinely what are people doing over there? If its all about visuals, then I promise any dev reading this, we really dont give AF about the visuals that much. Make it look decent, be fun, and release the game.
You're waiting this long for fallout/elder scrolls because there is 1 team that does both at Bethesda. They did Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, then Starfield. And are now on Elder scrolls 6. Their output has been fine (3-5 years between games) but having 2 huge franchises, then doing a spin off, and then doing an original IP before going back to the main series was always going to leave a big gap.
DeleteThey definitely should have had a 2nd dev team going at something though.
But still, just as a cherry picked example.
DeleteElden Ring took ~300 developers 5 years to make.
Starfield took ~500 developers 8 years to make
That’s just wild to me. And I liked starfield for the most part, but there’s really not a whole lot to it.
And Elden Ring is still like 20% reuse of models and sounds from Dark Souls.
DeleteDid they try wrapping it in a towel until it overheats?
ReplyDeleteDisgusting.
ReplyDeletehttps://tenor.com/bxNjq.gif
ReplyDeleteRedditors for years:
ReplyDelete"GamePass was an INGENIOUS idea, and so was making their exclusives multi-platform! We knew it all along!"
Redditors now:
"GamePass was destined to fail, and Microsoft is stupid for putting their games on PlayStation. Literally no reason to buy their console now, LMAO. We knew all along that neither of these were sustainable!"
Isn't it wild how many different people can have many different opinions and yet can still all be redditors?
DeleteTrue, Reddit is fickle.
DeleteNot really. Reddit tends to be a hivemind, and I've been following the gaming community here since 2009.
DeleteIf I see the community here absolutely shlock GamePass for years ("THE BEST VALUE IN GAMING!!!"), with years worth' of the top-rated comments calling it the "BEST THING EVER that will print Microsoft infinite money, so smart!" - and then all the top-rated comments shifting to "GamePass is WORST THING EVER, so unsustainable!"... that suggests to me that most people had shifted their opinions.
Probably just the by-product of Poo-fluencers on YouTube reading the wind, seeing people were pissed off at the steep price increase, and playing up how much it sucked because it was good for their YT ad revenue.
Majority of that “Best Deal in Gaming” bullshit was PR astroturfing done by Microsoft in an attempt to set a narrative.
DeleteSource: I’ve run marketing campaigns and can recognize one when I see it
DeleteThat's a good call, actually.
I notice anything Xbox-brand related is HEAVILY astroturfed by bots on this site.
Which even includes the term 'XBOX', because Microsoft knows the term Microslop Microsoft does not have a positive image with gamers. They're also getting all the shill journalists to stylize their name "XBOX" too - which'd be the equivalent of referring to Sony as "Sony Interactive Entertainment" in articles about the PS5.
Heck, I once even wrote a detailed post criticizing Microsoft's Pluton security processor, and a bot account came out of the wood works to attack me lol. Guess Pluton was the one thing exciting enough to get it posting again, because it hadn't posted anything in a year.
Any time a new game comes out assume the publisher hired a PR firm to astroturf for them. Even the most expensive one only costs a few hundred per 10,000 impressions. There’s one PR agency that ONLY does astroturfing for game companies. Expedition 33 used them quite a bit
DeleteEdit: Ubisoft is currently spending on a campaign for Black Flag Resynch now
I’ve been getting dogged on for almost a decade for saying GamePass was killing Xbox. From day one it was a money pit that never made sense
DeleteWithout game pass, there are hundreds of games I would’ve never played or bought. It’s not all bad but it’s definitely affect Xbox sales (besides exclusives of course)
DeleteI love making fun of redditors but those are different people saying those things.
DeleteAnd also in this very report you didn't read they cite gamepass as successful just not to the level they needed
I interpretted it as bullshit corporate-speak (eg, "XYZ was great, spectacular, and amazing! Full confidence in it - except for the mere fact it's unsustainable and hemmoraged us money for a decade!").
DeleteAnd no, I don't think it's necessarily different people. Redditors regurgitate whatever the influencers are putting out on YouTube, and now the zeitgeist is "GamePass is unsustainable, it was SO STUPID putting Call of Duty on there oh my goddddddd".
And now I see Redditors saying the same thing en-masse.
Exactly! You can tell the commenters who’ve never had to deal with corporate politics and CEO emails.
Delete
ReplyDeleteSpends $69 billion dollars for ABK. Meanwhile xbox is confused on why their entire division is underwater.
Hey at least they're doing the last ditch effort by getting rid of the least profitable studios leaving only profitable ones from the recent quarter. Surely next quarters will yield just as profitable results.
Seems like she's cutting out all the cooperate bs that has held the company back for years
ReplyDeleteBought the studio, do nothing. Phil spencer capabilities of wasting money need to be studied
ReplyDeleteWhile it sucks for the people that got fired it was definitely bound to happen. In the last couple of years Microsoft Game Studios Published and Developed a LOT of games. Most of said games were complete and utter failures in terms of sales because they were created to increase the value of Game Pass. But when there wasn't enough subscribers to pay for said studios something had to give.
ReplyDeleteIf what Asha said is true and that they targeted mostly middle management then this might help them lower cost and increase productivity.
Comment deleted by user
ReplyDeleteThat's the only acquisition properly paying off for them lol
DeleteAll the dead weight studios that were unprofitable for a decade are the problem.
Asha is about to get a HUGE bonus, she is kicking ass
ReplyDeleteI learned a bit about forestry from my wife who deals with Carbon. Apparently a critical part of the forest ecosystem is forest fires. Eventually the forests grow too old, there begins to accumulate tons of debris on the forest floor, and as the forest “succeeds” it also sets itself up for its own undoing. Importantly though, when the forest burns it sets basically resets itself and is poised to become healthier.
ReplyDeleteAnyways. I think the industry is ready for its forest fire. There has been a lot of cart-before-the-horse, a lot of investment at the expense of quality products and well implemented experiences.
Even if things look different going forward I think games will keep coming and we’ll keep having options, even if some of the options we have enjoyed don’t make it through the fire.
Kinda, yeah. And what's happening at Xbox right now is the equivalent of a controlled burn.
DeleteFrom their perspective that’s a great point. From the view of gamers and the devs being laid off it probably looks more like shits fucked. That’s seems to be the vibe around the gaming market that I’m seeing around here at least.
DeleteThis isn’t a natural phenomenon. This is a man made problem. Xbox is still profitable. Just not as profitable as what Microsoft wants.
DeleteFunny you should say that! One of the issues in forestry is that human intervention into preventing forest fires by putting them out and trying to control factors actually creates a less healthy forest soil and ramifications for the ecosystem, while also leading to worse fires when they do happen.
DeleteSeems similar to this situation still.
The issue isn’t Microsoft’s profit, the issue is games not succeeded, studios being cut, games cancelled, etc. all of which are happening across many studios because of their involvement.
I find it very distasteful to compare a fully natural phenomenon to people’s jobs and livelihoods. It’s something a literal supervillain would do. I’m pretty sure Liam Neeson did a whole villain monologue about it in Batman
DeleteYou find it distasteful to recognize patterns present in nature extend into the machinations of industry? I don’t know what to tell you lol. If things get out of balance there’s a backswing to regulate it somewhere. No need to be so dramatic.
DeleteGlad to see Double Fine and Compulsion Games are able to continue on as an Indie instead of being wrung of all value and discarded as a husk. However they negotiated their contracts, that's the way to do it.
ReplyDeletepeople saying this is sad, but Microsoft has been putting so much money into xbox as to be a small county's gdp and what do they have to show for it? grounded? starfield? just a failure on every level. im sure alot of people fired weren't responsible but this level of failure needs consequences. maybe it was purely middle management or higher ups fault, but i life isn't so simple. game devs that take years and years to release a single game with Microsoft level budget has to take some of the blame
ReplyDeleteThe consequences should be on the leadership that got golden parachutes.
DeleteAlso just because something is inevitable doesn't make it any less sad. Nothing you posted makes sense to the conversation at hand
you think this only falls on the leadership? game devs who have been paid out the ass and given years and years to work on a single game isnt at least partly to blame? im sure alot of the middle management and higher ups are very much to blame but i also place some of the blame on game devs as well. as should everyone. you get don't a gdp of a small country to make games and have literally nothing to show for it and still have a job. go watch that tim cain video where he talked about needing npc ai to test a new thing he was working on, instead of being allowed to just make a simple npc ai he had to go to the assigned game dev which told him he would have it done in 6 months, he complained to middle management about this and got it lowed to 3 months.... he said he could've done it in a single day or two...
DeleteYes it is all on management.
DeleteThat's very naive
DeleteNo it isn't, who gave them 100 million dollars and said make some good shit and then left them alone for 7 years? that is all on xbox.
DeleteAs shitty as layoffs are, this is the best possible outcome compared to what all of the rumors were about massive closures.
ReplyDeleteTo all those who want to shit on Xbox for all of this, you can bet your ass that Sony would NEVER do anything like this nor would they be open about issues they are having. At least Xbox found a solution other than simply closing these four studios. They also recognize they need to fix their business. Phil and Sarah Bond really drove Xbox into the ground with their shit decisions, and Asha is working to rebuild.
I can't be the only one that thinks this is a great direction. People have been hardcore hating on Xbox for a few years now, and longing for the heyday of the 360 era. This is how we get it back. Good on Xbox.
ReplyDeleteYou're why people don't consider redditors human. 4000 lives damaged and you think this an efight about video game quality.
DeleteLol 4000 lives are not damaged. They have entered a new chapter. They could have gone down with the ship, or they could be released so that the ship can be repaired and grow strong and stable again, thus helping more people in the future to have gainful employment.
DeleteNo, you are what is wrong with the world, for you cannot think big picture, but rather you are blinded by feelings. Feelings are not important, facts are.
People kept consuming Blizzard and EA games despite all the awful shit.
DeleteFirings and firings and firings and layoffs and layoffs and layoffs and shutdowns and shutdowns and shutdowns and rethinking and rethinking and rethinking and...
ReplyDeleteFuck this.
MS was one if not the biggest game publishers Asha
ReplyDeleteOf all that they could've done, letting the studios be sold to someone else or just go independent is probably the single best way they could've handled this. Wasn't expecting it to come out of Microsoft of all companies
ReplyDeleteThis sucks. Also, release the Epstein Files and FUCK Sony.
ReplyDelete??????
DeleteSee, y'all already forgot.
DeleteMicrosoft should have never bought half these studios in the beginning. At least allowing them to go back to being indie is better than closing them down or making them solely a support studio.
ReplyDeleteEhh tbh it was a good play. Its just that these studios were handed a golden ticket and decided to make the most niche games possible .
Deleteto be fair, those most niche games possible were all given full approval and greenlit by xbox management.
Deleteits 4800 not 3200
ReplyDeleteBut the article shows as 4,800...
DeleteAre you high? Did you paste the comment on the wrong blog?
That's Microsoft as a whole. Xbox is a little over 1000 of those layoffs with nore planned for the year. That's how you get 3200
Delete
ReplyDeleteThey bet on gamepass and it didn’t work out. Too many mediocre games in a sea of them.
Funny enough, Microsoft’s got a massive chance to correct ship here in the next console gen seeing as how Sony has taken a nosedive with betting on live action games and doubling down, along with a string of mistakes ruining the goodwill of its fanbase.
Microsoft can come out swinging in this next console release, but I am almost positive they’ll mess this up and continue their downfall.
These exec decision makers really do live in a different world where they think they know best, and continue to drop the ball.
Well, let’s see who screws up less than the other. I don’t have high hopes for either of them, lol.
At least it’s not studio closures. But that doesn’t make the situation right. Or cancel out the wrong.
ReplyDeleteStill 3200 job cuts and a goal of eliminating 20% by 2027 july
Pretty sure that 3200 is the 20% they're targeting. 1600~ now then the rest over time until July 2027.
DeleteNot 3200 now and then another 20%.
Profit-driven companies doing what they can to increase their profit
ReplyDeletePeople: *surprised pikachu face*
We’re not surprised. We’re just disappointed. This is 3 thousand people losing their jobs.
DeleteYeah that’s true, but these 3k people should understand that sooner or later they may become obsolete for the company. This is entertainment industry, no job is safe.
DeleteI like the company I work for, I feel safe for now, but I understand that at some point I may be terminated just because. It will suck, but I won’t be mad or disappointed.
I guarantee you nobody in the game industry has felt safe in their company this entire decade.
DeleteCompanies gotta stop overhiring people in the first place, corporate bloodbaths like these do harm both to the company and most importantly to the workers there who have responsibilities and families to take care off beyond their professional life.
ReplyDeleteComment removed by moderator
Deleteholy shit how and what did they spent the $19B for???
Delete???????? Did you respond to the wrong comment? This person didn't blame the employees at all.
DeleteComment removed by moderator
DeleteThat's still not what they said........ The OP stated that Microsoft laying people off hurts the people that were let go. At no point did they blame the employees, you read way too much into their comment and got angry over a sentiment that wasn't written.
Deleteespecially on the xbox sub, but even here, theres a ton of misunderstanding going on.
ReplyDeletePeople seem to default to "well no studios got closed, thats a win".
No. This is basically to save some face PR wise. What they have done here is worded so carefully by the lawyers. But essentially these studios will all close or at least massively downsize in the coming months. If they were bought its probably just for IP not the current studio which new owners will shutter. If they go independant surely Xbox isnt giving them the money to float for 2-3 years to release a game. They will give them some small runway to say they did.
Basically this is PR slop. And its sad how well its working on people. This is a massive L for Xbox and a sign they are desperate to try and stay alive in the short term.
They don’t make any money outside of Activision and Bethesda. What are they supposed to do?
DeleteMicrosoft is not a charity who brings in struggling studios and hands them blank checks. The studios are being allowed to leave with their intellectual property.
I don’t see the issue here.
right.....not my point. My point is people are falling for PR speak here. These studios are basically finished. This is just a slightly delayed way of having that happen. They should be finished, but its funny people are giving Xbox a thumbs up for "not closing studios" today.
DeleteUndead Labs has spent what like 5 years making basically another rehash of the same game with nothing to show.
DeleteThey are being given a chance to succeed on their own feet.
Will they fail? Probably.
It is under no circumstance the same as being shuttered and dissolved without a chance. You are being disingenuous as hell for reasons I don’t quite understand.
there are some people who just continually eat Microsoft corpo PR with a spoon.
DeleteIt's almost like they should have never bought Activision and Zenimax. It's also almost like they should give up being a hardware manufacturer and go 3rd party.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet again developers are paying the price for executive decisions.
Though I am happy Double Fine and Compulsion made it out, with their IP no less, at least for now. Goodness knows DF has budget problems.
Also wishing Ninja Theory and Undead Labs a soft landing with an owner that respects them.
While MS isn't as bad as EA was it still is taking a dance with the devil.
Finally, fire Matt Booty.
Undead Labs makes me very sad, but this makes sense from a financial point of view. I don't know why someone would buy undead labs or ninja theory though to be brutally honest.
ReplyDeleteObviously it was dumb of microsoft to give companies effectively a blank check, but the studios also should have been more responsible.
The bottom line is that Microsoft needs to stop producing as many games that lose money and produce more that make money. This helps with the former, but for xbox to be successful, it needs exclusives that people REALLY want.
Who is going to produce exclusives for xbox to make people buy the system?
I just hope after this microsoft takes a more active role in certain first party studios (especially bethesda but also probably obsidian).
they can be sold very cheaply, as XBOX is willing to part with the IP for "free" and has already paid for the development up to this point, it is sold as a discount as long as the buyer is willing to shoulder the payroll
DeleteNinja Theory has an advanced mo cap studio and some excellent animators so I could see value there.
DeleteUndead Labs I have no clue they make zombie survival games which are passé these days and their games are frankly unpolished jank
We aren't at the undead peak i agree, but we just had a last of us tv show, we have remakes of all of the resident evil games and a new one. People don't hate zombie games.
DeleteI don't think a state of decay 3 would be the highest seller, but i think as long as they don't let the budget get insane, it could be profitable. Maybe it wouldn't be an xbox system seller on its own if it was an exclusive, but it is a nice arrow in their quiver.
I did really like the previous games though so i could be biased.
You haven’t played State of Decay 2 recently then. I finally picked it up and can’t stop playing. Feels very polished, just took awhile to get there.
DeleteDoes this mean games like State of Decay 2 will no longer require an Xbox Live account login to play on Steam? Because if so, I might actually buy it.
ReplyDeleteAssuming they don't just delist the game and leave it in an unplayable state. Just look at how many GFWL games are now either unplayable or require the user to fix them.
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