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Xbox lays off 650 employees in latest round of job cuts

Microsoft says that there will be no game cancellations or studio closures as a result of this round of layoffs.

Donovan Erskine

September 12, 2024 8:58 AM

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Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in its gaming division. The job cuts impact 650 workers, primarily in its corporate and support teams.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced the layoffs in a memo to employees, which IGN obtained. “As part of aligning our post-acquisition team structure and managing our business, we have made the decision to eliminate approximately 650 roles across Microsoft Gaming,” he wrote. He goes on to say that this decision was made so that the company can “organize our business for long term success.”

Spencer goes on to say that there will be no game cancellations or studio closures as a result of the layoffs. Back in May, Xbox closed Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks as a result of layoffs at subsidiary Bethesda. The latter was recently revived following an acquisition by PUBG publisher Krafton.

This announcement comes after Microsoft laid off a staggering 1,900 workers from its gaming division back in January. With the yearly total now north of 2,000 for Microsoft alone, layoffs continue to be the story for the gaming industry in 2024.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_