General News - Microsoft closes Studios

[HiddenX]

GameSpot reports that Microsoft closes some studios and cancels XBox games:

All The Xbox Games Canceled And Studios Closed In Microsoft's Latest Mass Layoffs

[...]

Microsoft announced mass layoffs on July 2 impacting many areas of the company's sprawling business, including Xbox. Overall, Microsoft is said to be cutting 4% of its staff worldwide, affecting about 9,000 people. Microsoft is an enormous company that employs more than 200,000 people globally.

The exact number of cuts at Xbox is unknown, but Microsoft has confirmed layoffs at multiple studios, game cancellations, and entire studio closures. Read on to learn more about all the cancelled games and studio closures as a result of Microsoft's latest cutbacks.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer sent a memo to staff today addressing the cuts, claiming the job losses were necessary to allow for the "enduring success" of Xbox.

"We will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness," he said.

Spencer also addressed the fact that the cutbacks are coming at a time when business is booming for Xbox. "I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger," he said.

The success of Xbox today is the result of "tough decisions" Microsoft made previously, Spencer said.

"We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities," he added. "We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come."

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!



More information.

 

[henriquejr]

Another mass layoffs... I was really hoping that the Perfect Dark remake could see the light of the day

The Gameplay Reveal trailer, from the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, showed some potential.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofUi9DR9sc4

 

[Zloth]

The success of Xbox today is the result of "tough decisions" Microsoft made previously, Spencer said.

Yeah: full bore on Copilot.

 

[JFarrell71]

I remember when Rare was a big deal. Barely.

Honestly, it sounds like the games that were canceled probably should have been. This does not seem to be a Warner Bros shelve-a-perfectly-good-finished-movie type situation.

 

[rjshae]

There's been a significant decline in video games sales compared to a year ago, so we may see more such closures.

 

[BlackVoid]

There's been a significant decline in video games sales compared to a year ago, so we may see more such closures.

Game quality went down considerably. Writing, graphics, gameplay. Consider the sheer amount of games made and we have 2-3 good games per year. Like 2025 had only two (IMO of course), Clare Obscur and Alters.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

"Alas ! Poor Yorick ! I knew him, Horatio !"

 

[Farflame]

I was really hoping that the Perfect Dark remake could see the light of the day
The Gameplay Reveal trailer, from the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, showed some potential.

According to recent rumors/news that Gameplay Trailer was one big FAKE. Just a fake video that had nothing in common with the actual build.
There is also a rumor that development of new Tomb Raider is problematic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940479733617381644

View: https://x.com/RinoTheBouncer/status/1940479733617381644

 

[henriquejr]

According to recent rumors/news that Gameplay Trailer was one big FAKE. Just a fake video that had nothing in common with the actual build.
There is also a rumor that development of new Tomb Raider is problematic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940479733617381644

View: https://x.com/RinoTheBouncer/status/1940479733617381644

Fake? How so? That video is from Xbox official Youtube channel, right? Supposing such rumors are true, why would Xbox bother to produce a fake video from a video game they (at least last year) had plans to release?

 

[docmars]

Unfortunate to see for American workers, considering they have simultaneously applied for thousands of H-1B Visas matching the same job titles this year. Oof.

1. https://nichegamer.com/microsoft-laying-off-thousands-of-employees-h1bs/
2. https://www.financialexpress.com/bu...ting-workforce-with-a-global-upgrade-3901422/

 

[KaosWarMonk]

Spencer also addressed the fact that the cutbacks are coming at a time when business is booming for Xbox. "I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger," he said.

Saying this while at the same time cutting your head count doesn't make sense to me.

 

[lackblogger]

Mass layoffs?

In the old days studios would just close and the people employed would filter out to different developers or create a new company.

With the rise of big studios buying up all the individual companies this now communicates as 'mass layoffs', because all those individual companies are now supposedly part of one big company.

It's just the EA thing being rebranded to sound more dramatic.

 

[Zloth]

Saying this while at the same time cutting your head count doesn't make sense to me.

Like I said, full bore on CoPilot. They want to be THE Artificial Intelligence company. Anything not sporting some sort of CoPilot aspect is on thin ice. If there's some sort of trouble, real or imagined, there's a good chance the group will be gone. Management has CoPilot stuff to do; they don't have time to screw around with things that might be profitable.

 

[mercy]

Karma. Probably they realized their stupid trash AI garbage will code and GENERATE much better games than puny human developers with their measly souls. MicroTrash fully deserves this fate.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1941138310832726134

View: https://x.com/Mr_Rebs_/status/1941138310832726134


This almost feels hard to believe.

 

[Morrandir]

There's been a significant decline in video games sales compared to a year ago, so we may see more such closures.

What is the situation if you count in GaaS? Did unit sales only go down, or did general consumer expenditure also decrease?

 

[danutz_plusplus]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1941831621705085137

View: https://x.com/HazzadorGamin/status/1941831621705085137


Not sure we know what Project Titan was, but maybe a sequel to Callisto Protocol? Anyway, more and more bad news.
John Romero's project was apparentl also cancelled with the Microsoft defunding.

 

[JDR13]

Not sure we know what Project Titan was, but maybe a sequel to Callisto Protocol? Anyway, more and more bad news.
John Romero's project was apparentl also cancelled with the Microsoft defunding.

I don't think it was a sequel to Callisto Protocol. Unfortunately, it didn't sell enough to warrant a sequel. The rumor is Project Titan was a battle royale game.

 

[Farflame]

Regarding Microsoft's support - opinion from ex-Arkane's dev:

Former Arkane Studios Founder Calls Game Pass “Unsustainable”

Raphael Colantonio says the model has been

gamingbolt.com

 

[Couchpotato]

None of the games canned interest me so I'm not bothered.

Anyway Sony will be next but the outrage won't be click baited.

Fun fact Sony laid off employees, canceled 11 games, and closed three studios.