Summary
Microsofthas confirmed another round of layoffs, which will affect over 6,000 employees at the conglomerate, around three per cent of the workforce.
In a statement given toThe Verge, Microsoft spokesperson Pete Wootton said, “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”
According to reporting from The Verge, these cuts are occurring at all levels of Microsoft, and across all the company’s associated businesses. It’s unknown if Xbox is specifically affected by these layoffs, but other Microsoft-owned ventures such as LinkedIn have suffered layoffs.
Another Round
Microsoft’s gaming arm suffered a substantial round of layoffs last June, losing over 1,900 jobs across Xbox and Activision Blizzard. Shortly before those layoffs, Xbox closed Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, with the former having been revived by Krafton after the fact.
It’s a time of great change for Xbox, as the publisher and hardware developer has completely changed its business strategy over the last year. Xbox has all but abandoned the idea of exclusive releases, porting many of its first-party releases to PlayStation 5.
This is certainly a commercially successful strategy, given the success of Xbox’s games on PlayStation 5. Last month, Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, Indiana Jones, Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle all appeared in the top spots onPlayStation’s bestsellers list.
This inconsistent strategy, which has Gears of War being ported to PlayStation, but Avowed and South of Midnight remaining exclusive, hasbaffled developerswho have encouraged console competition in the past, to prevent Sony or Nintendo from holding an inordinate amount of market share in the space.
One bright spot for Microsoft is Game Pass, whichappears to be thrivingafter the release of Oblivion Remastered and surprise hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on the platform in the same week.
