‘Employees at Virtually Every Studio Are Worried’: Major Layoffs at Xbox Expected Next Week

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Rumors circulating within the industry hint at the possibility that Microsoft might initiate job cuts affecting approximately 2,000 employees in their Xbox division as early as the upcoming week.

Earlier this week, reliable reporter Jason Schreier from Bloomberg initially broke the news about potential job reductions, citing sources privy to the company’s strategies. His article suggests that these layoffs could be significant in scale, affecting various departments within the organization.

According to a subsequent report by The Verge, the multibillion-dollar corporation is planning to revamp its Xbox distribution strategy within central Europe. This move may lead to the termination of certain operations in specific regions.

In certain European nations, Xbox Series X|S sales have been disappointing over a prolonged period. A recent analysis indicates that only 12,000 Xbox Series X|S were sold in Spain from January 1st to June 8th, 2025. On the other hand, the PS5 managed to sell 178,000 units during the same time period.

3D Realms’ George Broussard, one of the founders, shared on Twitter that he’s picking up concerns and unease among developers across various studios. He hinted at the possibility that whole development teams might face closure due to their apprehensions.

He mentioned that the number of attendees might range from 1,000 to 2,000. Considering there are roughly 10,000 individuals in the Xbox community, this seems like it could be between 10% and 20%. All the best to everyone involved; I wish you all the strength needed for this.

Last year, our division underwent significant downsizing in January and May, a response to the relentless push from higher-ups for us to enhance our profitability following the extraordinary $69.9 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. As a dedicated fan, I’m closely watching this evolve.

Indeed, it’s clear that these developments will influence the PlayStation landscape significantly. In an effort to boost its earnings, Microsoft is now making a concerted effort to bring most of its prominent series to the PS5, such as Forza Horizon 5 and Gears of War Reloaded.

To date, these games have been proving highly popular among loyal Sony fans. However, it appears that the division is struggling to cope with the burden of its complex acquisitions, declining hardware sales, and stationary subscription services similar to Xbox Game Pass.

We’ll provide information once we learn about the scale of the job cuts, however, I regret to say that things don’t seem promising at the moment.

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2025-06-26 17:06