Amidst news that Microsoft will be cutting around 4.5% of its total workforce, with 10,000 jobs on the chopping block, it’s been reported that some of those cuts extend to Xbox Game Studios employees.
Bloomberg has reported that the layoffs have already begun to hit employees across some key Xbox Game Studios teams including The Coalition (Gears of War), 343 Industries (Halo) and even Bethesda Game Studios, which Microsoft acquired in 2020/2021.
While the scope of the cuts amongst Xbox teams is still unclear, Bloomberg claims that unnamed sources have described some of the employees lost as being veterans of Xbox with some having decade-plus histories with the company.
On the 343 Industries side of things, an email reportedly from studio head Pierre Hintze describes the making of the “difficult decision to restructure elements of our team, which means some roles are being eliminated.” Hintze says that it will continue to support Halo Infinite’s multiplayer and live service elements, suggesting that the bulk of the cuts may have been to the teams or individuals working on that game’s campaign content.
It sounds like 343's Halo Infinite campaign team got hit hard. In an email to staff, studio head Pierre Hintze wrote that "we've made the difficult decision to restructure elements of our team, which means some roles are being eliminated." https://t.co/GhjZLz6m7V
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 18, 2023
The Microsoft layoffs are said to predominantly be the symptom of economic challenges, but the reductions at its gaming-focused divisions surely have a particular sting as the technology giant dusts off a number of acquisitions totalling billions of dollars and continues to throw money and lawyers at its intended takeover of Activision-Blizzard.
