Microsoft said Tuesday, September 22, it was cutting 268 Xbox roles as part of a broader round of fewer than 600 layoffs worldwide, including 300 positions in Washington state.
Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty said the reductions affect Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and Xbox Game Studios management and central teams. He said the changes bring the restructuring announced in July to about 75% completion.
Microsoft is also reorganising several game studios. Activision will oversee World’s Edge and Rare and will develop the next Halo title through a dedicated team separate from Call of Duty. A smaller Halo Studios team will continue supporting existing games and the community.
Bethesda will oversee Obsidian Entertainment, while King will assume responsibility for Microsoft Casual Games. Turn 10 and Playground Games will be combined into one studio responsible for the Forza and Fable franchises.
The company’s wider restructuring plan calls for about 3,200 Xbox job cuts by the end of fiscal 2027, including 1,600 positions eliminated in July. Those cuts were part of a broader July reduction of about 4,800 Microsoft jobs worldwide.
Read: Microsoft Layoffs Draw H-1B Backlash After Xbox Cuts
Microsoft has said those eliminated roles are not being replaced by artificial intelligence. Its July restructuring memo linked the cuts to a broader reset of Xbox operations, studio structure and management layers.
