Microsoft has reportedly implemented additional layoffs across its gaming, security, and sales sectors. The video game industry has faced significant challenges recently, with numerous companies, including Microsoft, announcing substantial layoffs in 2024. Affected studios range from major developers to smaller independent firms, with recent cuts impacting teams at IllFonic, known for Predator: Hunting Grounds, and People Can Fly, creators of Outriders. Earlier this month, Rocksteady also confirmed further layoffs following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Microsoft, one of the largest companies affected, has been scaling back its Xbox workforce since early 2024. In January, the company announced the elimination of 1,900 positions within its Xbox gaming division, including staff at subsidiaries like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. In September, an additional 650 employees were let go, primarily from corporate and support roles at Activision Blizzard.

According to a recent Business Insider report (via GamesIndustry.biz), Microsoft may have initiated another round of layoffs. A company spokesperson indicated that these cuts affect a limited number of staff but did not disclose specific figures. These reductions are unrelated to earlier layoffs this month, which targeted underperforming employees not necessarily tied to Xbox.

Microsoft May Reduce More Xbox Staff

Microsoft’s ongoing layoffs are particularly significant given its recent acquisitions of major publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, as well as its achievement of a $3 trillion market valuation shortly after the January 2024 layoffs. Those initial cuts prompted scrutiny from the FTC, which raised concerns about the layoffs at Activision Blizzard in an attempt to challenge Microsoft’s high-profile merger with the Call of Duty publisher.

Previous Microsoft layoffs have impacted Xbox’s physical retail teams, much of Blizzard’s customer service staff, and in-house developers at studios like Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Additionally, Blizzard’s unannounced survival game, codenamed Project Odyssey, was canceled amid these reductions. The total number of employees affected by this latest round of layoffs remains unconfirmed, leaving uncertainty about its impact on Microsoft’s Xbox gaming division.