Xbox is reportedly undergoing another round of layoffs, with 650 roles eliminated across Microsoft’s gaming division to organize the business for “long-term success.”
On Sept. 12, IGN reported a memo sent to Microsoft staff by the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer. In the email, Spencer wrote that Microsoft is laying off “approximately 650 roles across Microsoft Gaming,” mostly within corporate and support functions, to align with the “post-acquisition team structure” and manage the business.
Spencer wrote with these changes, Microsoft Gaming’s corporate and supporting teams and resources are “aligned for sustainable future growth, and can better support our studio teams and business units with programs and resources that can scale to meet their needs.”
Affected employees in the U.S. will receive exit packages, including severance, extended healthcare, and outplacement services, to help with the transition. He added that other teams will be impacted as they adapt to shifting priorities.
Despite the layoffs, Spencer highlighted that “no games, devices or experiences are being cancelled and no studios are being closed as part of these adjustments today.”
These layoffs come after Microsoft reportedly cut 1,900 roles in January, affecting recently acquired Activision Blizzard in particular and extending to Xbox and ZeniMax Media. In May, the company also closed the studios behind Redfall (Arkane Austin) and Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks), among other studios.
When speaking to IGN during Summer Game Fest, Spencer said the decisions behind layoffs are part of his responsibility to run a sustainable business inside the company, not the decisions he loves.
