Xbox has confirmed it will announce another round of layoffs. These layoffs are expected to lead to a full closure of the studio as the company attempts to course correct from a disastrous console generation and make up for the rising costs of hardware components.
But another source says these layoffs will come as a shock. According to Obsidian co-founder Chris Avellone, the studio previously told to be “safe” from layoffs is now bracing for cuts, suggesting some beloved developers could be affected.
It seems no one is safe from Xbox's latest round of layoffs.
“Clearly MS Studios, which had been told in the past that layoffs would have no impact, seems to be getting a different message after the recent announcement,” Avellone wrote. “Previously 'safe' studios are now telling employees they're not sure how a leadership change will affect their studios. There's a lot of uncertainty, even at studios where Microsoft has consistently released products.”
The last point is particularly worrisome. It makes clear that even successfully releasing games for Microsoft (and thus Game Pass) won't be enough to save the studio from these layoffs.
To make matters worse, news is coming that Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan has resigned (according to The Game Business). This doesn't bode well for the Xbox-owned studio, as it has been his job to oversee studios like Obsidian, Halo Studios, and Double Fine.
There are rumors that Double Fine and Ninja Theory are on the verge of shutting down completely, but this is all just speculation at this point. Whatever happens, it's clear that the scale of these layoffs will be bigger than last year, when several games were canceled, including the Perfect Dark reboot and Zenimax Online's new MMO.
Obsidian fans are also worried, and the fact that Avellone is providing this latest update is unlikely to reassure them. He hasn't said whether his former job is safe, but two of the three releases Obsidian has put out in the last year appear to have not done very well, so fans are fearing the worst.
- Establishment date
-
April 4, 1975
- CEO
-
Satya Nadella
- headquarters
-
Redmond, Washington, USA
