Highlights
- Even more Xbox layoffs are said to be on the horizon.
- The new cutbacks are reportedly happening this week.
- Microsoft laid off approximately 1,900 Xbox employees back in January, then opted to shutter four of its ZeniMax Media subsidiaries four months later, bringing its total number of 2024 layoffs to over 2,000.
Even more layoffs across Xbox are on the horizon, an industry insider has said. The purported cutbacks would mark the third major round of Xbox layoffs since the turn of the year.
Microsoft laid off approximately 1,900 Xbox staffers back in late January 2024. Those cutbacks affected not just its Xbox Game Studios division but also Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media, which continue to operate as standalone publishing arms. The company later cited concerns over a general lack of gaming industry growth as the reason for that decision. Come early May, Microsoft also closed down four ZeniMax studios: Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, Tango Gameworks, and Roundhouse Studios. The move saw its total number of 2024 layoffs reach approximately 2,100.
Sony Reportedly Cutting Around 250 Jobs
A new report claims that Sony is preparing to cut around 250 jobs from one of the company's major divisions in the immediate future.
New Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Happening This Week
But the cost-cutting effort is still not over, with The Verge's Tom Warren now reporting that even more Xbox layoffs are in the pipeline. This latest round of workforce reductions is said to be happening during the first week of July 2024. The cutbacks have ostensibly already started, with Twitter user @Jessabirdy reporting that her role at Xbox had been eliminated on Tuesday, July 2. This turn of events dovetails with an early May 2024 report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who characterized Microsoft's decision to close the aforementioned ZeniMax Media studios as part of "a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn't finished."
The timing of these purported layoffs coincides with Microsoft's fiscal year 2025, which started on Monday, July 1. That may not be a coincidence, as it's not uncommon for the tech giant to synchronize its budget adjustments and related cutbacks with the fiscal year calendar. There is currently no indication that this latest round of cost-saving efforts will lead to any more studio closures at Xbox. But the exact scope of the purported July 2024 layoffs remains unclear.
As things stand right now, Microsoft still operates one of the largest game publishing businesses on the planet, being only behind Sony and Tencent in terms of revenue. Between Xbox Game Studios, ZeniMax Media, and the recently acquired Activision Blizzard, the company presently employs approximately 20,000 staffers across its game development and publishing subsidiaries.
Gaming is far from the only division of Microsoft that's been hit with workforce downsizing efforts in recent times. Microsoft also reportedly eliminated over 1,000 other roles back in June 2024, with those layoffs being said to have affected its HoloLens and Azure cloud teams. The news of the Azure cutbacks came as a particular surprise to some industry watchers, not least because that team company's most profitable division in terms of margins.
Source: Bloomberg
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