Reports indicate that Microsoft has conducted another round of layoffs, impacting employees across its gaming, security, and sales departments. The exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed. Importantly, these job cuts are separate from earlier layoffs announced in January and more recently.
The gaming industry has experienced significant workforce reductions in 2024, with numerous companies, both large and small, implementing substantial layoffs. Recent examples include IllFonic (Predator: Hunting Grounds) and People Can Fly (Outriders). Rocksteady Studios also announced further job cuts following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Microsoft's own workforce reductions began in early 2024. A substantial January layoff impacted 1,900 Xbox division employees, including staff at acquired studios Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. A further 650 corporate and support roles were eliminated at Activision Blizzard in September.
A Business Insider report (via GamesIndustry.biz) now suggests another, smaller round of layoffs at Microsoft. While a spokesperson confirmed the cuts, the precise number of affected employees remains unconfirmed. These latest reductions are unrelated to previous cuts targeting underperforming employees outside the Xbox division.
Microsoft's ongoing layoffs are particularly noteworthy given its recent acquisitions of major gaming publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, and its achievement of a $3 trillion market valuation shortly after the large-scale January 2024 layoffs. The initial wave of cuts drew scrutiny from the FTC, which initially attempted to leverage these layoffs as an argument against the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger.
Previous Microsoft layoffs have also affected Xbox's physical retail teams, a significant portion of Blizzard's customer service, and internal development studios such as Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Blizzard's unannounced survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was also canceled.
The impact of these latest layoffs on Microsoft's Xbox gaming division remains uncertain, pending confirmation of the number of affected employees.
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