According to The Seattle Times, 9,000 employees, or ninja138 situs 4 percent of Microsoft’s workforce, are affected by the cuts, which started Wednesday morning. The full scope of layoffs within Microsoft’s gaming divisions are still unknown. Microsoft announced its intention to fire 3% of its staff, amounting to just under 7,000 people, in May; looming cuts to the company’s game business were first reported last week. The company previously eliminated 10,000 jobs in 2023—just one year after it announced its intention to acquire Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion—and over 2,500 more in 2024. HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.
Microsoft’s massive layoffs have hit the Romero Games studio founded by the legendary developer. Allegedly, all members of the team responsible for Empire of Sin have lost their jobs. The game doesn’t offer an offline mode, so it will stop working, which is ironic in light of the success of Stop Killing Games’ campaign. Rare‘s November 2019-announced original intellectual property Everwild has been canceled amid mass layoffs at Microsoft Gaming, according to reports by VGC and Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. “We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the spokesperson said. Is it a good sign when you have to basically threaten your own employees to get them to use the products you’re basing the future of your company on?
PlayStation’s tweet has given us the reminder that HDR exists on the PS5. Let’s talk about the firestorm that just exploded in the Marvel Rivals space. Going against every odd, team Sentinels has been given the title of number one team… It looks like Epic Games basically thrilled FNs players with the abysmally blurry thumbnail shot for a Festival “Deep End” emote in the item shop. The whole VALORANT community is abuzz with talks regarding the new map, Corrode, and the agents that dominate on these chaotic grounds.
New Microsoft Activision Blizzard Leadership Changes See Ceo Kotick And Others Leave Soon, Xbox Fully Take Over
The revenge flick is being developed by a single developer, and is coming to Steam next year. The legends at Capcom have shown a new trailer for the Onimusha reboot, dubbed Way of the Sword. It looks absolutely fantastic, with tight hack n’ slash combat, and a 2026 launch window for Xbox and PC.
The first global tests of Where Winds Meet will soon take place, the last before the release of this promising action RPG in Chinese climates. Amid major layoffs at Microsoft, reports have emerged of a troubling situation at the studio responsible for the Halo series. Final Fantasy’s biggest flop almost killed the entire series, but it only made it stronger – it’s learned a lot from this very expensive misstep. It’s going great in the company’s Xbox division too, according to a memo sent to employees by Phil Spencer. A Microsoft representative confirmed with PC Gamer that the reported memo is accurate. Microsoft is reportedly laying off around 9,000 people in total, and a lot of them are coming from the Xbox business.
Save up to $425 now and tap into powerful takeaways, peer insights, and game-changing connections. Backyard Baseball 2001 is getting remastered for Steam, iOS, and Android as Backyard Baseball ‘01, releasing July 8th. While the PS5 Pro may get crisper graphics in 2026, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny says his next console won’t come that quick.
Xbox Confirms It Has “no Minimum Order Quantity” For Games On Disc
The day before a national holiday, Nintendo’s Canadian branch announced that there will be a pricing change for the original Switch hardware lineup, along with accessories and Switch Online memberships. The actual changes apparently won’t be announced until August 1st, but the prices are being adjusted “based on market conditions,” which is something Nintendo has had to contend with recently. 11 Bit Studios has taken to social media to explain how gen-AI wound up in its survival base-builder The Alters. According to the company’s explanation, gen-AI was used for placeholder text for a single graphical asset and to translate in-game movies into languages other than English. Fans found out because in some places, bits of the AI-prompt remained in the final text. Stay ahead of the curve with our comprehensive coverage of gaming events, conferences, and expos.
According to Bloomberg, The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios is canceling a new MMORPG project due to the cuts. The outlet also reports layoffs of roughly 200 people at Candy Crush maker King and that layoffs are also taking place at Call of Duty developer Raven Software. Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. This is the fourth major round of layoffs at Microsoft Gaming in the last two years.
Perfect Dark Canceled, Studio Shut Down Amid Thousands Of Layoffs At Microsoft
Video Games Europe voices opposition to Stop Killing Games movement as it clears threshold to become an EU Citizens’ Initiative. News Latest update also adds a party system and “improved erosion”. PlayStation fans are worried Helldivers 2’s Xbox port is going to “devalue” the platform’s brand.
Actor Samantha Béart says that they are aware of game devs having diverse and inclusive elements cut from their games. The fans who have stuck with Anthem over the past six years aren’t giving up on it just yet. Lies of P’s first DLC “Overture” is available now, per a shadow drop of sorts.
Those who have a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass option will be able to play games from Nintendo’s 2001 console on the Switch 2 when it releases in June. Coming to PS5, Steam, and Xbox in the future, this game has absolutely absurd physics and skin textures, and should be immediately at the top of any horror fan’s list. “With digital distribution and engines like Unreal, today’s biggest projects emerge from outside the traditional publisher system,” Geoff says. Its listed as coming to Steam in 2026, but the website says it’s also coming to consoles as well.
While Metal Gear is known for breaking conventions, it was created to compete with one game in particular, and the similarities are obvious. Xbox Game Pass is full of hidden gems, but there’s one truly terrifying sci-fi horror adventure that fans of the genre won’t want to miss. Naturally, Spencer also said putting thousands of people out of work will “increase agility” at Microsoft, because of course he did. All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards. Mario Kart World players are suggesting an interesting change to the iconic Blue Shell that would make it more useful for some racers.