News of layoffs in the game industry have almost never stopped in recent years, and the next one that may be affected is still the Microsoft game department. According to previous reports from “Bloomberg” and “Reuters”, Microsoft is expected to carry out a new round of organizational reorganization for the Xbox department after the end of this fiscal year. Multiple departments including marketing may be affected. Although the official scale of layoffs has not yet been announced, it is widely expected to be a major personnel adjustment. After the news was exposed, many players were worried that following the closure of many studios and cancellation of projects in recent years, Xbox may be facing a new wave of shocks.
The union directly stated that employees will not be left to fight alone.
Faced with rumors of layoffs, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents multiple Xbox, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard employees, took the lead in taking a stance. The union stated that if layoffs do occur, it will immediately intervene to assist affected employees in fighting for severance compensation, job security and related rights, and emphasized that the significance of the existence of the union is to protect game developers at this moment, rather than letting employees suffer all the consequences alone. In recent years, more and more Microsoft studios have chosen to join the union, including Bethesda, ZeniMax and the “Overwatch” team, which has gradually expanded the influence of the union in the game industry.
Xbox has been losing weight almost every year in recent years
Since Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox has reported news of layoffs or reorganization almost every year. In addition to laying off about 1,900 game department employees in 2024, there will be subsequent studio closures, project cancellations, and multiple waves of manpower streamlining. Recently, there has even been news that Compulsion Games, the developer of “South of Midnight”, has also begun laying off employees, showing that Xbox’s restructuring is still ongoing. Now, if the new round of layoffs comes true, it means that Xbox may not be out of this years-long consolidation period.
What players fear most is no longer the layoffs themselves!
In fact, players are worried about more than just someone losing their job. The bigger problem is that every layoff and every studio downsizing may mean that more new works are delayed, more projects are canceled, and even some new IPs that had great potential disappear. Microsoft has yet to officially announce its layoff plans, so the outside world can only wait for further official explanations. But at least this time, the union has spoken out. It can only be said that in the current gaming industry, players are not only waiting for new game launches, but sometimes they also have to wait for the layoff list.