The Most Significant Restructure in Xbox History: Live Report

Microsoft has announced what it has called "the most significant restructure in Xbox history." Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has confirmed 1,600 Xbox staff will lose their jobs today, with another 1,600 set to be cut during the current financial year. As part of that, four studios are leaving Microsoft, and one may be sold or closed if it doesn't find a buyer.

Details

There is a lot of news flooding in around the Xbox layoffs, including staff, studio, and game changes. We'll report on it all live right here. Keep refreshing for the latest updates on the likes of State of Decay 3, Senua, Marvel's Blade, and the many staff who are working on them.

What's happening with Marvel's Blade?

As part of today's announcement, Xbox boss Asha Sharma said Arkane’s management "is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options." As a French studio, Arkane must follow the country's labor law around a potential sale or closure, and this process may take some time. Meanwhile, the future of Marvel's Blade, which was in development at Arkane Lyon, remains unclear. Will it be released? Is it canceled? Could another company pick it up, with Arkane Lyon potentially continuing development? IGN has asked Marvel Games for comment.

ZeniMax (Bethesda, id Software, MachineGames)

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier has said that while Microsoft-owned ZeniMax will suffer from today's cuts, it won't be left to work on Fallout and The Elder Scrolls only. Yes, Bethesda has The Elder Scrolls6 in the works, and the expectation is that there will be a focus on getting new Fallout games out the door. But ZeniMax studios will also work on Doom and Quake (id Software) and Wolfenstein (MachineGames). There's no mention of Indiana Jones, however, which suggests MachineGames will not get the chance to work on a sequel to the well-received Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Double Fine and Compulsion Games

Double Fine and Compulsion Games have now issued public statements to confirm their status following word of today's enormous cuts by Xbox, discussing their respective futures as independent studios. More here on the fate of the likes of Psychonauts and South of Midnight.

State of Decay 3

Asha Sharma has said Undead Labs will be sold "with funding to complete and grow" State of Decay 3, which suggests the game will be released eventually. But we don't know who has bought the studio, and we don't know if it will suffer any layoffs as a result. State of Decay 3 only appeared at the Xbox Games Showcase last month, where it had a new trailer with a 2027 release window.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].