Overview
- Xbox has moved from an earlier June reset to plans for large job cuts that sources say could begin around July 6 and affect roughly 1,000 or more roles.
- Reporters have identified five first-party studios that Microsoft is weighing to close or sell: Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Arkane Studios.
- Arkane’s Marvel’s Blade is reported to be over budget and internally delayed to 2027, and Microsoft is said to be considering canceling the project while exploring a sale of Arkane.
- Union leaders and organized Xbox employees have publicly protested and demanded layoff protections, citing Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s pay and heavy spending on AI as reasons the cuts are avoidable.
- The reset reflects longer-term pressures — roughly $20 billion in recent content and platform subsidies, weak Game Pass economics, and rising hardware costs — and any sales or spin-offs could take months and still lead to further layoffs and canceled projects.