Microsoft Microsoft Layoffs/Studio Closures/Cancelled Games

[Spiner202]

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Microsoft announced mass layoffs on July 2 impacting many areas of the company's sprawling business, including Xbox. Overall, Microsoft is said to be cutting 4% of its staff worldwide, affecting about 9,000 people. Microsoft is an enormous company that employs more than 200,000 people globally.

The exact number of cuts at Xbox is unknown, but Microsoft has confirmed layoffs at multiple studios, game cancellations, and entire studio closures. Read on to learn more about all the cancelled games and studio closures as a result of Microsoft's latest cutbacks.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer sent a memo to staff today addressing the cuts, claiming the job losses were necessary to allow for the "enduring success" of Xbox.

"We will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness," he said.

Spencer also addressed the fact that the cutbacks are coming at a time when business is booming for Xbox. "I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger," he said.

The success of Xbox today is the result of "tough decisions" Microsoft made previously, Spencer said.

"We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities," he added. "We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come."

Microsoft's stock-price slid slightly after the layoff news was announced, but the price has been trending upwards in the past five years and currently stands at a near-record high. Microsoft is currently the No. 2 most valuable company on the planet, only behind Nvidia.

The article lists all of the games cancelled, but Perfect Dark is on the list and that is upsetting

 

[Ben]

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The article lists all of the games cancelled, but Perfect Dark is on the list and that is upsetting

The game industry is taking it raw lately. It's gotta be a result of big corporations trying to leverage AI for as much as they can... Especially for the COD studios where I believe they'd already been caught adding AI generated assets to their store.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I think its funny about how people whine about Nintendo's practices as of late... but you don't see them running around buying up all the companies.

Should have bought Rare, though...

Probably still can if M$ is wanting to shed some weight.

 

[Smacktard]

Should have bought Rare, though...

Really? Seems like they dropped that milk in the trash just as it curdled.

 

[dimmerwit]

The article lists all of the games cancelled, but Perfect Dark is on the list and that is upsetting

Can't say I'm surprised though. The "gameplay" they showed looked suspect and we've heard little otherwise. Development had already been rebooted once. Sucks, but I never really got my hopes up.

 

[Ben]

Should have bought Rare, though...

Probably still can if M$ is wanting to shed some weight.

Really? Seems like they dropped that milk in the trash just as it curdled.

I mean, they were exclusively a Nintendo developer until 2002, right? Nintendo didn't want them then, either, even though they made stuff like the original Donkey Kong Trilogy.

 

[dimmerwit]

I think people just have nostalgia for old Rare. For the last decade they've mostly been developing and maintaining Sea of Thieves, which has become a pretty good game but is not much like their old output. Nintendo has zero reason to buy them, it would be a bizarre acquisition.

 

[Spiner202]

Can't say I'm surprised though. The "gameplay" they showed looked suspect and we've heard little otherwise. Development had already been rebooted once. Sucks, but I never really got my hopes up.

After I made this thread, I went and watched the gameplay trailer. I guess I must have missed it, because I loved the reveal trailer from years ago, but nothing from that gameplay trailer looked like Perfect Dark to me. Even if it had come out, it seems like it would have missed the mark for fans.

Hopefully they port Rare Replay over to Playstation so I can at least play the original again.

 

[Smacktard]

I mean, they were exclusively a Nintendo developer until 2002, right? Nintendo didn't want them then, either, even though they made stuff like the original Donkey Kong Trilogy.

They started to go to shit immediately after Microsoft bought them. I thought for a while that it was just unfortunate timing, but now after my experience working in a large corporation, my guess is that big biz bureaucracy killed them.

 

[Jawneh]

I could be wrong, but I think the first game Rare had their hands on after the acquisition was Banjo Nuts and Bolts. And we all remember how well that was received.

 

[Smacktard]

I could be wrong, but I think the first game Rare had their hands on after the acquisition was Banjo Nuts and Bolts. And we all remember how well that was received.

Didn't they do Viva Pinata?

 

[Jawneh]

Didn't they do Viva Pinata?

Yeee, they did. Apparently they got bought already in 2002 and 2003 the first game under MS was Grabbed by the Ghoulies.

 

[Mark]

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The article lists all of the games cancelled, but Perfect Dark is on the list and that is upsetting

Looks like that CEO be stepping down before the release of the next-gen systems.

I also like the attempt at a positive spin by saying they've made cuts like this before and turned shit into gold. I just don't see that being the case this time, especially with more and more of their IP making its way to other platforms. For all we know, two generations from now Microsoft might not even have a physical console and might simply be a game streaming network via GamePass.

 

[dimmerwit]

Looks like Forza Motorsport has been canned. Horizon will continue as it's made by a different studio.