Microsoft Announces Additional Employee Layoffs

Overview of Recent Microsoft Layoffs

Microsoft has once again reduced its workforce, focusing on its gaming, security, and sales sectors.
The exact number of employees affected remains uncertain.
These layoffs are distinct from an earlier round of cuts reported in January.

Microsoft has initiated additional layoffs within its gaming, security, and sales departments. The gaming industry has been facing significant challenges, with numerous companies, including Microsoft, announcing massive layoffs throughout 2024. Affected entities range from large developers to smaller indie studios, highlighting the widespread impact of these job cuts. Notable examples include layoffs at IllFonic, known for Predator: Hunting Grounds, and People Can Fly, creators of Outriders. Additionally, Rocksteady recently faced its own layoffs following the mixed reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Since the beginning of 2024, Microsoft has notably downsized its Xbox division’s workforce. Earlier this year, the company declared that it would part ways with 1,900 employees from its Xbox gaming team, a move that included personnel from subsidiaries such as Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. Following that, another 650 staff were let go in September, which predominantly affected corporate and support roles at Activision Blizzard.

According to a recent report from Business Insider, citing information from GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft may have completed another round of layoffs. A spokesperson for Microsoft mentioned that a limited number of employees would be affected; however, the specific figures have not been disclosed. These latest layoffs appear unrelated to previously announced cuts this month that focused on underperforming personnel likely outside the Xbox division.

Further Layoffs Expected in Xbox Division?

The recent layoffs at Microsoft are particularly significant given the company’s recent acquisitions of major gaming studios like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. Notably, Microsoft reached a market capitalization of $3 trillion following the substantial layoffs in January 2024. These workforce reductions spurred complaints to the FTC, which initially considered using the layoffs at Activision Blizzard as a basis to challenge Microsoft’s high-profile merger with the publisher of Call of Duty.

Previous layoffs at Microsoft have also impacted the retail division of Xbox, diminished Blizzard’s customer support teams, and affected in-house developers such as Sledgehammer Games and Toys for Bob. Notably, the development of Blizzard’s unnamed survival game codenamed Project Odyssey was canceled as a direct consequence of these workforce reductions. The total number of employees impacted by the latest layoffs has yet to be confirmed, and it remains unclear what implications this will have for Xbox and its future endeavors.

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