Microsoft Lays Off 9000 Staff - Perfect Dark, Everwild Cancelled
Following the previous rumours of layoffs at Microsoft, we now have confirmation on how many staff members have been laid off, as well as the rather bleak news that Perfect Dark, Everwild, and more games have been cancelled.
Job losses, studio closures, and game cancellations across Microsoft and Xbox today leave many questioning the brand
9,000 job losses. The first supposed AAAA video game studio closure. At least three games cancelled. Layoffs have been frequent in the industry in the past few years, with job cuts and studio closures across many studios. It’s a recurring trend that has sadly become the norm, but days like today are enough to take the joy out of gaming for a while.
Microsoft has now confirmed the rumours that they will be terminating a further 9,000 roles within their company. This follows on from the nearly 7,000 job cuts from earlier in May, the unconfirmed number of Xbox division staff let go in January of this year. In 2024, a total of 2,250 job losses hit Xbox Game Studios, Activision-Blizzard, and ZeniMax.
It’s not uncommon for companies to downsize after the purchase of another, but it truly does no favours to Microsoft’s image with the public. And the already waning patience with the Xbox brand goes even further, as with the layoffs that are affecting multiple teams within the Xbox division comes the cancellation of their in-house AAAA studio, The Initiative.
Formed back in 2018 and touted as the first ever AAAA studio, The Initiative featured talent from Naughty Dog, BioWare, Rockstar, Insomniac, Blizzard, Respawn, and Santa Monica. The studio’s only title, a reboot of Perfect Dark, has also been canned. Rumours emerged previously that there wasn’t a lot of direction, in spite of all the talent. The team were joined by Crystal Dynamics in 2021, with gameplay of Perfect Dark shown in June 2024.
Reports also indicate that Rare’s Everwild was also cancelled, alongside an unannounced ZeniMax project, and a few others that weren’t revealed. Perfect Dark wasn’t the only Xbox title stuck in development hell, as Everwild was initially announced back in 2019. The game was rebooted in 2021, with another reboot occurring in 2023. It was partly playable in October 2024, but it won’t see the light of day now.
Xbox’s public perception has fallen a long way in the past decade, and despite some roaring successes, it continues to tumble further. How do you feel about the layoffs across Microsoft and Xbox? Let us know in the comments.
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