Microsoft Layoffs Will Hit Starfield Devs and More
The announced major layoffs at Microsoft will also affect game development studios. Some developers working at teams such as Bethesda, 343 Industries and The Coalition are expected to say goodbye to their jobs.
Yesterday we wrote about significant layoffs planned at Microsoft. 10-11 thousand people are expected to lose their jobs. Now, thanks to an article by Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, we have learned that this reduction will also include game development teams.
- The layoffs are expected to affect, among others, Bethesda Softworks (Starfield), The Coalition, (Gears of War series) and 343 Industries (Halo series).
- Among those laid off, there is no shortage of veterans who have worked at their studios for more than a decade.
- 343 Industries in particular is to be hit hard by the reductions, losing some 60 developers, including a large part of the team responsible for the campaign in Halo: Infinite. Many gamers were hoping for story expansions to this game, but now this seems much less likely.
- Some of the employees have been transferred to other positions at Microsoft. One such person is Joseph Staten, who joined 343 Industries as creative director in 2020.
- It is worth mentioning that during the pandemic period the company hired as many as 40,000 new employees, raising their total number from about 160,000 to more than 200,000.
Recent months have been a period of massive layoffs. Suffice it to mention recent reports of cutbacks at companies such as Amazon, Meta or Twitter. Now Microsoft is joining them - the number of employees is to be reduced by 5%.
In the case of the Redmond giant, it is worth remembering that the company wants to buy out Activision Blizzard, which will result in the corporation taking on 10,000 additional employees. This plan, however, faces many obstacles and it is difficult to assess whether something will ultimately come of it.
As for the impact of the layoffs on upcoming games, they should not hurt Starfield, which is already on the final stretch. Fans of the Gears of War series may be more concerned, whose sixth installment is currently in the pipeline.
In the case of 343 Industries, on the other hand, the situation is even worse, as the studio was already not doing well before the layoffs. Halo Infinite recorded a great start, but then lost most of its players due to the slow pace of development. This was thought to be caused by mismanagement of the team's bosses and the use of contract workers whose contracts were not renewed after 18 months, severely limiting the team's capabilities.
