Update 24/06/2025: A report from The Verge adds a claim that the cuts are part of Microsoft restructuring Xbox's business in Central Europe, "resulting in some Xbox operations ceasing in some regions."
Original Story:
According to a report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Microsoft is planning another "major" layoff for its Xbox division, with what Schreier describes as "substantial cuts" coming, though it's currently unclear how many employees will be impacted.
Schreier claims the layoff will be revealed next week, and points out that Microsoft has previously delivered bad news of this ilk near the end of its fiscal year, which is coming to an end on June 30, six days from now at this time of writing. He also claims that the cuts will come across the entire Xbox division, meaning staff at Xbox and at any of the studios under the first-party Xbox banner are at risk.
This will be the fourth major layoff for staff at Xbox in the last 18 months, which brings us all the way back to January 2024 when Xbox laid off 1,900 people, many of whom came from Activision Blizzard King shortly after Microsoft officially closed its acquisition of ABK.
Shortly after that, Xbox shuttered four ZeniMax studios: Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roundhouse Studios, and Alpha Dog Games. Some months after that, more layoffs were confirmed at Activision Blizzard, with nearly 400 developers let go from the California-based studios.
It's always unfortunate to hear about more layoffs, especially considering that the industry has been in major turmoil with nearly non-stop layoffs since 2022. Thousands upon thousands of developers have lost their jobs in the last few years, as a band-aid financial solution to bad bets that executives made when the industry was booming during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least for now, it doesn't look like the cuts are stopping anytime soon. Major companies like EA have already had multiple layoffs this year. Hypixel announced it was shutting down just yesterday, and now we have more layoffs to look forward to next week.
Hopefully, those impacted can land on their feet quickly.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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