Microsoft is cutting another 268 jobs across its Xbox business as it pushes ahead with a restructuring that is also changing how some of its best-known gaming studios and franchises are organised.
The jobs are being eliminated across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and Xbox Game Studios management and central functions. The latest cuts follow a much larger round announced in July, when Xbox began a plan to eliminate 3,200 roles, or about 20 per cent of its workforce.
Microsoft says the restructuring carried out since July, including studio divestitures, is now roughly three-quarters complete.
The job cuts come with a substantial reshuffling of Xbox’s studio structure. Activision will expand its remit to include Rare and World’s Edge, while a new team within Activision will develop the next Halo title. The team will operate separately from Activision’s Call of Duty operations.
A smaller team will remain at Halo Studios, formerly known as 343 Industries, to support existing Halo games and its player community. Halo Studios is among the businesses affected by the latest job cuts.
Bethesda will take responsibility for Obsidian Entertainment. Obsidian will continue working on Grounded and will collaborate with Bethesda Game Studios on a new Fallout project.
Microsoft is also bringing Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios together as a single studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises. King, the company behind Candy Crush, will take responsibility for Microsoft Casual Games.
The restructuring extends to studios Microsoft has been trying to divest. Compulsion Games and Double Fine returned to their management teams in August along with their intellectual property and back catalogues, while Undead Labs has now completed a similar transition.
The future of Ninja Theory is less certain. Microsoft said two proposed agreements for the studio had fallen through and it will begin consulting employees on a possible closure while continuing to explore alternatives. Discussions over the future of Arkane are also continuing.
The changes follow the first phase of Xbox’s restructuring in July, when 1,600 jobs were cut. Microsoft had said at the time that it planned to eliminate 3,200 roles during the restructuring and simplify the management structure of its gaming business.
For employees, the latest announcement shows that the reset is moving beyond headcount reduction. Studios are being merged, shifted between business units or moved out of Microsoft altogether, while development responsibility for major franchises is being concentrated within fewer teams.
Halo represents the most visible example. The franchise has been closely associated with Xbox since the original console arrived in 2001. Its next major title will now be developed under Activision rather than Halo Studios, marking a significant change in how Microsoft manages one of its oldest gaming properties.
