Approximately 2,500 people have lost their jobs at Xbox since the Activision buyout, and that number is expected to go higher.
When glancing at Xbox headlines, it’s easy to assume that everything’s hunky dory within Microsoft’s gaming division. Its acquisition of Activision Blizzard cemented it as the largest games publisher in the world and its multiplatform push saw its games become very popular on PlayStation, more so even than Sony’s.
On top of that, it had a decent summer showcase, highlighting upcoming games, announced a partnership with Asus to make a pair of Xbox handheld devices, and just last week shared details on an AMD partnership for its next generation of consoles.
And yet Microsoft is reportedly planning to layoff significant numbers of staff by the end of the month, as part of a wider effort to trim its workforce.
Bloomberg had already claimed that Microsoft was going to cut thousands of jobs, particularly from its sales team, but a follow up report from earlier today alleges that the Xbox division will be impacted too.
Precisely how many people will lose their jobs isn’t known, but Bloomberg claims that major layoffs will be formally announced next week, implying that a significant number of Xbox employees will find themselves out of work.
For those of you keeping track, this will be the fourth round of layoffs at Xbox in 18 months. The first round occurred in January 2023, when up to 10,000 employees were let go.
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Another 1,900, including Activision Blizzard staff, were laid off a year later, followed by another 650 employees in September 2024.
Microsoft will never admit it, but it’s very telling how these layoffs have occurred almost like clockwork, ever since Microsoft announced its very expensive purchase of Activision Blizzard.
That’s virtually guaranteed for any acquisition, as the company eliminates duplicate jobs, but was magnified by the sheer size of Activision Blizzard. It’s also likely that a number of jobs are being eliminated by AI, which Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is a keen proponent of.
As well as the constant layoffs, hardware sales remain awful (which is what prompted the decision to go multiplatform in the first place), Game Pass subscriber numbers have barely improved despite getting Call Of Duty, and Microsoft recently raised prices on Xbox hardware and games.
It’s easy to assume that a desire to save on money is what’s also promptedMicrosoft’s interest in using AI for game development; something that continues to be unpopular among the general audience and game developers.
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