Microsoft layoffs: only half of the 9,000 affected devs worked for Xbox alone
New information has appeared about massive layoffs at Microsoft. Among other things, we learned how many employees will leave the Xbox division, as well as the sad fate of the Turn 10 studio.
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Yesterday, there was big news about massive layoffs at Microsoft, which will result in about 9100 people losing their jobs. The decision has been made to cancel the games Everwild, Perfect Dark, and the unannounced MMORPG from Zenimax Online studio. The Initiative team was also closed down. Meanwhile, at Turn 10 Studios, Raven Software, Sledgehammer, and High Moon, the team was significantly reduced.
Now new reports on this subject have appeared:
- Out of the 9100 employees affected by the reduction, less than half were working in Microsoft's gaming department.
- Gregg Mayles will leave Rare studio. He worked in this team for 35 years and was the director of such hits as Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, and Sea of Thieves. He's one of the few remaining Rare veterans who worked there before the team was acquired by Microsoft in 2002. This is another big name that will leave Microsoft as a result of the layoffs. Yesterday, we reported on the departure of ZeniMax Online's CEO, Matt Firor, who spent 18 years at the company.
- Layoffs at Turn 10 were to affect almost 50% of the team. The remaining employees will be able to continue developing Forza Motorsport, but it's hard to imagine they'll have the resources to work on the next installment of the series. Many indications suggest that the team will be reduced to the role of a group assisting other studios.
- Jason Schreier reports that these layoffs were conducted in an exceptionally chaotic manner. ZeniMax Online employees didn't receive any information from the management. Instead, some of them discovered that their access to corporate accounts on Slack had been closed. These people still had not received confirmation of who among them would be saying goodbye to their jobs.
The players are also mad that on such a day Phil Spencer only posted a letter to the employees and then went to play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
It's worth mentioning that there have been a lot of big layoffs at Microsoft recently. In May, the corporation laid off 3% of its workforce, which is over 6,000 employees. A few weeks later, they announced more, smaller layoffs, affecting 305 people.
