Microsoft has announced a reduction of its workforce by 3%, impacting around 6,000 employees out of a total of 228,000 as reported by CNBC in June 2024. The company is focusing on streamlining management layers across all teams to better position itself in a dynamic market. A Microsoft spokesperson stated, "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace."

IGN has reached out to Microsoft to inquire if these cuts will affect its video game division. In a separate development, Microsoft made additional cuts in September 2024, reducing its gaming business staff by 650 employees. This follows an earlier reduction of 1,900 staff in the same year, totaling 2,550 layoffs in the gaming sector since the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in 2023. As part of these cuts, Microsoft closed studios such as Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin.

In June 2024, Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke to IGN about the necessity of these decisions, saying, "I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make."

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