Xbox Cuts 268 Roles as Microsoft Reorganises Its Game Studios

Microsoft is eliminating 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party teams and Xbox Game Studios management as part of a wider restructuring announced on 22 September.

Xbox Game Studios president Matt Booty said Activision will expand its remit to include World's Edge and Rare, while Bethesda will take on Obsidian. Playground Games and Turn 10 will be combined around the Forza and Fable franchises. King will also absorb Microsoft Casual Games.

The company said Compulsion Games, Double Fine and Undead Labs have returned to management ownership with their intellectual property, back catalogues and runway funding. A proposed closure process is beginning at Ninja Theory after two agreements fell through, while consultation around Arkane continues.

Why Nigerian developers should pay attention

This is not just corporate news from abroad. Nigerian studios, contractors and professionals looking for global games work need to read large-publisher restructuring as a signal about where hiring, outsourcing and publishing decisions may move next. Fewer business units can change who commissions art, engineering, quality assurance, localisation and community work.

It also underlines the value of protecting ownership and building more than one route to market. For African studios seeking publishers or remote contracts, the practical response is to keep portfolios current, document shipped work, understand IP terms and avoid depending on one platform relationship.

Source

• Xbox Wire: Continuing Our Reset