It was only a few days ago that a report came out regarding a mass layoff wave at Microsoft. While that report only mentioned sales staff that were to be affected, now, another report has landed that mentions the company's Xbox gaming division being another layoff target.
According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Microsoft has another major round of layoffs planned for the Xbox division as it reorganizes the company ahead of the new fiscal year. This unfortunate news for many staff will be announced as soon as next week, per the report
Bloomberg has gained the information from sources that had asked not to be named, who had said that managers inside Xbox are already expecting the job cuts to take effect soon. While no specific developers, divisions, or numbers were mentioned, "substantial cuts" are reportedly incoming as a part of this change.
The gaming division of Microsoft has gone through multiple layoff waves in recent years. Late 2024 saw 650 jobs being cut from Xbox corporate and supporting teams. Earlier in the same year, over 1,900 staff from Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Xbox development teams were let go from Microsoft.
Microsoft has released a number of high-profile first games as of late, including Doom: The Dark Ages, Avowed, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and is also pursuing a multi-platform strategy that has Xbox games releasing on PlayStation platforms. It has also confirmed next-gen Xbox hardware is now in development and recently unveiled a first-ever official Xbox handheld initiative.
If the latest report turns out to be accurate, we should have an official announcement sometime next week. Microsoft's current fiscal year is slated to end on June 30.
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