It looks look a fourth round of layoffs are going to hit Xbox next with, resulting in “substantial cuts”, according to a new report.
The reliable gaming journalist Jason Schreier broke the news in a brief article on Bloomberg. According to his sources, “major layoffs” are going to hit Xbox next week. This confirms Bloomberg’s earlier reporting from this month which stated Microsoft is planning on cutting thousands of jobs, primarily in the sales sector.
“Managers within Xbox are expecting substantial cuts across the entire group,” said Jason, before dramatically ripping off his shirt to reveal a gleaming S and flying off into the distance. That last part may have been an exaggeration, but surely it isn’t coincidence that his last name is Schreier and Superman has a giant S on his chest? I think not.
Jokes aside, this is yet another major hit to the industry which has already suffered blow after blow. It’s a very unstable place to have a career right now.
Tom Warren of The Verge, who also previously reported on the planned cuts, has published a new article, stating that: “One source tells me Microsoft is restructuring Xbox distribution across central Europe, resulting in some Xbox operations ceasing in some regions.”
Tom also confirms that the cuts are expected to mainly hit the sales division, right as a new financial year kicks off.
It’s a very…confusing time at Xbox right now. These cuts come at a time when Xbox finally seems to be getting the actual games part of the whole videgames thing sorted out. It has launched quite a few exclusives this year, bolstered Game Pass with huge titles and is aiming for a hell of a 2026, if Phil Spencer’s teases about Halo, Forza and Gears come to fruition. When Microsoft started buying up studios like it was a hungry, hungry hippo, the promise was big exclusives one after the other, but that didn’t happen. It seems like they’re finally getting their ducks (hippos?) in a row.
On the other hand, Xbox has turned into a multi-platform publisher, already announced a its next-gen machines are being worked on and are doing things like integrating other PC storefronts into the Game Pass PC App. I mean, we’re getting Gears of War on a PlayStation in a few months. What the hell is even going on, anymore?