Microsoft Reportedly Lays Off More Employees

Summary

• Microsoft has reportedly conducted further layoffs affecting its gaming, security, and sales divisions.
• The exact number of employees impacted remains undisclosed.
• These layoffs are separate from the January cuts.

Microsoft has reportedly implemented another round of layoffs across its gaming, security, and sales divisions. The video game industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, with numerous companies, including Microsoft, announcing substantial job cuts in 2024. This includes both large studios and smaller independent developers, with recent examples including IllFonic (Predator: Hunting Grounds) and People Can Fly (Outriders). Rocksteady also recently announced layoffs following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Microsoft itself has been reducing its Xbox workforce since the beginning of 2024. In January 2024, 1,900 Xbox division employees were laid off, impacting acquired subsidiaries like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. A further 650 corporate and support staff at Activision Blizzard were let go in September.

A new report from Business Insider (via GamesIndustry.biz) suggests another round of layoffs has occurred. While a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the cuts, the precise number of employees affected remains unannounced. These latest reductions are unrelated to the earlier January cuts targeting underperforming employees outside the Xbox division.

Microsoft Could Be Laying Off More Xbox Employees

Microsoft's continued layoffs are notable given its recent acquisitions of major publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, and its achievement of a $3 trillion market valuation shortly after the significant January 2024 layoffs. The initial wave of cuts drew FTC scrutiny, with the regulator initially attempting to use the Activision Blizzard layoffs as a reason to block or reverse the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger.

Previous Microsoft layoffs impacted Xbox's retail teams, much of Blizzard's customer service, and in-house developers such as Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Blizzard's unannounced survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was also canceled. The scale of the latest layoffs remains unconfirmed, and their impact on the Xbox gaming division is currently unknown.