Microsoft's Recent Layoffs Continue Across Multiple Divisions
Reports indicate Microsoft has conducted another round of layoffs, impacting employees across its gaming, security, and sales departments. The exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed. Crucially, these job cuts are separate from previous layoff announcements made earlier in January and more recently.
The gaming industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, with numerous companies, including Microsoft, implementing substantial workforce reductions in 2024. This trend has affected both large studios and smaller independent developers, with recent examples including IllFonic (Predator: Hunting Grounds) and People Can Fly (Outriders). Rocksteady also recently announced further layoffs following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Microsoft's own workforce reductions began early in 2024. In January, the company announced the dismissal of 1,900 Xbox division employees, including staff from acquired companies like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. A further 650 corporate and support employees at Activision Blizzard were laid off 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 affected employees remains unconfirmed and described as a "small number". These latest reductions are unrelated to the earlier January layoffs, which reportedly targeted underperforming staff not directly associated with Xbox.
The Broader Context of Microsoft's Layoffs
Microsoft's ongoing layoffs are particularly noteworthy 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 job cuts prompted complaints from the FTC, which attempted to use the Activision Blizzard layoffs as justification to block or reverse Microsoft's acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher.
Previous Microsoft layoffs have impacted various areas, including Xbox's physical retail teams, most of Blizzard's customer service team, and internal development studios such as Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Blizzard's unannounced survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was also canceled following these layoffs.
The impact of this latest round of layoffs on the Xbox gaming division remains uncertain, pending confirmation of the number of employees affected.
