Amid news of a mass layoff of nearly 10,000 people at Microsoft, this decision will directly impact a range of employees across the Xbox Game Studios, The Coalition, 343 Industries and Bethesda teams.
According to reports Bloomberg and Kotaku, a number of developers at the aforementioned three Xbox studios have been informed that their positions have been terminated. A total of 878 jobs across Microsoft are immediately affected by this decision, while more layoffs are expected through March.
Layoffs hit The Coalition (responsible for the Gears series), 343 Industries (Halo Infinite developer), and Bethesda (working on Starfield). It’s not yet clear exactly how the layoffs have affected any of these projects, or how many people at each studio are affected.
CEO Satya Nadella noted that layoffs account for less than 5% of Microsoft’s massive workforce, and claimed they were a result of slowing digital consumer spending, as well as an ongoing recession. Microsoft actually laid off “hundreds” in October last year in a wave that was believed to have affected its gaming divisions as well.
This news comes a year after Microsoft first announced its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a deal still facing legal troubles in the US, UK and now the EU. Activision Blizzard will bring nearly 10,000 new employees to the company. Microsoft if the deal goes through.