Xbox lays off 268 more employees, merges Obsidian into Bethesda, and puts Activision in charge of Halo
Xbox says it's now "roughly three-quarters of the way" to completing its planned 3,200 job cuts.
Xbox has implemented further layoffs and studio consolidations as part of Microsoft's ongoing gaming division restructuring. The company has dismissed an additional 268 employees, primarily from Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and central XGS functions. This brings Xbox's downsize plan to about three-quarters of completion, which had led to 1,600 job losses in June.
Activision will take over the development of the upcoming Halo game, while also managing Rare and World's Edge, the developer of Age of Empires. Obsidian Entertainment will be absorbed by Bethesda, continuing its current projects like Grounded and a new Fallout game in collaboration with Bethesda Game Studios. Playground Games and Turn 10, previously creative and franchise partners, will be formalized into a single studio, ending their decade-long partnership.
Candy Crush developer King will join forces with Microsoft Casual Games. Meanwhile, Ninja Theory, after two failed divestiture attempts, is set for closure.
Xbox's CEO Asha Sharma initiated the sweeping restructuring, emphasizing the company's pursuit of simplicity over complexity. However, the effectiveness of these moves remains to be seen, as both Xbox developers and industry observers question the ability of numerous developers to create high-quality games solely based on management directives.
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