Logo via Xbox / Image via Game Developer
Centuries of collective game development experience discarded in minutes. That’s how the fifth round of mass layoffs at Xbox since 2023 unfolded, according to those impacted by the cuts
Multipleexplained how Microsoft’s latest purge—which will result in 3,200 people losing their jobs across Xbox by the end of the current fiscal year—felt bizarrely self-defeating and needlessly cruel
Let’s turn back the clock to Monday, July 15, when the layoffs were confirmed internally (and subsequently announced publicly) by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Multiple sources spread across Bethesda, ZeniMax Online Studios, and id Software were informed their jobs were being eliminated during a fleeting video call with management at their respective studios. There was no opportunity for those impacted to question the decision or seek an explanation. Chat was disabled. Microphones were permanently muted. In one instance, cameras were automatically turned off—meaning those delivering the news couldn’t even see their colleagues’ faces.
Those meetings were all swiftly ended. One source claimed the call announcing the widespread layoffs at Doom developer id Software—where 136 people assigned to the studio’s office in Texas were let go—lasted under 60 seconds. In the instance of id Software, specifically, we’re told those being laid off were asked not to come into the office on Monday so late in the day that many had already begun their commute. An Outlook invite was purportedly sent to impacted staff at id Software around 10 minutes before the meeting, hosted by studio boss Marty Stratton, was due to commence. Some people didn’t make the call.
Once the news had been delivered, Slack and internal email access was reportedly pulled within 48 hours. It left colleagues scrambling to make sense of the situation using unofficial channels—many of which are overseen by union members and organizers. Studio bosses told impacted staff looking for clarity to reach out to an internal company email, perhaps forgetting—or not realizing—that specific email could only be reached using the very same internal addresses that had just been revoked
One person claimed Microsoft essentially tried to “shove off” as much responsibility as possible for managing the situation onto the unions. According to multiples and organizers that cuts were imminent when concerns were raisedshortly after Bloomberg published a report in June(correctly) claiming that another debilitating restructure was in the offing
“Many of us did not know what was happening for weeks,” said one person. “Higher ups didn’t know or did not say. It was left to all of us to speculate and spiral and worry.”
AOnline Studios described Microsoft’s overall handling of the layoffs as “insane.”
“Does Microsoft care? Absolutely not. And they seem to actually put some level of effort and care into making it as painful as possible,” added oneandoned everyone from the union they laid off, but they’ve even abandoned the people that weren’t in the union.”
One Bethesda worker accepted that Sharma actively tried to rationalize the cuts, but said she largely failed in that regard. Because of how Microsoft is implementing the layoffs—eliminating 1,600 roles immediately while pledging to cull another 1,600 workers before the end of the fiscal year—they also questioned how anybody at the company can possibly move forward
“I don’t know how anyone remaining at Xbox studios can feel safe knowing another 1600 cuts are coming. And even then, what happens after June 2027? Will we get layoffs in July for the third year in a row?,” they pondered. It is, based on recent history, a remarkably fair question
‘I cannot imagine a path forward where they make another game in id Tech”
There has been plenty of speculation as to how those studios targeted by Xbox leadership will be able to regroup after losing so much talent and foundational knowledge
The short answer, based on those we spoke with, is that many will likely struggle to meet the wildly fluctuating demands of a parent company that claims it must refocus on major franchises such as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls in order to sell increasingly expensive console hardware—all while gutting the very studios and teams responsible for crafting those would-be system sellers
“Bethesda Game Studios lost a lot of talent this week. Xbox says they want to focus on their core franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls but that’s going to be harder than ever now,” said one source
“The institutional knowledge that has been lost or will be lost completely as individuals leave the gaming industry all together is staggering. Those that are left must be scrambling to pick up the pieces,” added another
Take id Software, for instance.In a public statement issued last week, the studio claimed it still has the staff needed to “build the games and tech we’re known for.” Yet, one studio worker who was laid off last week claimed that statement is stretching reality to breaking point. They explained the “majority” of staff who worked on the recently-launchedRevelationsexpansion forDoom: The Dark Ageshave been let go. They also suggested the majority of people charged with supporting id Tech—the studio’s proprietary engine, a branched version of which has also been used by Wolfenstein developer MachineGames—were kicked to the curb.
“They’ve just gotten rid of all the people who could ever fix, maintain, or change [id Tech], so it’s most likely going to end up in the in the trash can. That’s where I just come back to: It completely feels like success is detached from your ability to keep a job, and I think that’s basically provable,” they added
“[…] There were five members of the VFX team, including the lead [that were laid off]. Our technical art and design part department now only has its lead. That’s it. All other four of the members of the team were let go. The institutional knowledge [that has been lost] on the id Tech side is immense. […] I cannot imagine a path forward where they make another game in id Tech.”
In a statement to Game Developer, Xbox said reports of the id Tech team being reduced to one person in Texas are inaccurate. “There are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations,” they added
Even so, it’s clear the cuts run deep at id Software. That same source claimed around 90 percent of the design team responsible for overseeing AI and gameplay within the studio have been “wiped out,” and said Microsoft even laid off “employee number 13″—one of the longest-serving workers at the studio who had been with the company since the formative days of John Carmack and John Romero. It’s an anecdote that seems to directly counter Sharma’s claim that Xbox is making cuts to “deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers.” Those we spoke with feel those “makers” are the very people who have been disproportionately targeted.
Over at ZeniMax Online Studios, oneimpacted, many of whom were union members. Those who kept their jobs are now reportedly being asked to “wear multiple hats” and become more generalist. That is, in the words of one
“Triple-A game development is so collaborative and so interconnected [around] specialists that [laying off so many people] is like having a wide piece of cloth and taking out half the threads. The entire thing is going to fall apart because we depend so closely on each other, and you can’t just rip out a third or almost half of of your implementers—your direct implementers—and expect to have the same level of content. Not even close,” they explained
“There is no amount of external contractors that is going to save you from that. We’re on a custom in-house engine [at ZeniMax Online Studios]. Many studios are. It takes like six months of training before you’re even up to speed on all the intricacies of doing your job.”
“There are no benefits to being owned by Microsoft”
There’s a feeling among those who spoke out that Microsoft is woefully inconsistent when setting and managing expectations. Onegh the studio the day before a major expansion forDoom: The Dark Ageslaunched without pausing to understand how it would perform
“They didn’t even wait to see if the product is successful before they got rid of the team,” they explained “[…] There are no benefits to being owned by Microsoft. In fact, they have destroyed immense amounts of value that I don’t even think that they’re aware of.”
Bethesda also publicly championed the success ofDoom: The Dark Ageswhen it launched last year, describing the threequel as thebiggest launch in id Software historyafter it topped 3 million players. One year later, developers have been rewarded for that accomplishment with layoffs
“It feels like we put a good product out and it just has zero effect on your longevity in the industry,” said one source
From the outside, it’s unclear how Microsoft viewed the title’s performance based on copies sold and the impact it had on Xbox Game Pass. It also appears to be a mystery internally, with Microsoft being accused of failing to clearly outline its parameters for success to id Software workers, leaving them unsure as to what—if anything—they could have done to save their jobs
The waters are reportedly similarly muddy at ZeniMax Online Studios. Onethey were making ends meet aftermoving away from an expansion model to a season pass
“All of the information that was ever visible to us out of those numbers meetings—out of the the monthly staff meetings—were that we were doing fine,” they explained. “You know, we’re paying for ourselves. […] We were improving on the metrics [Microsoft] wanted us to improve on.”
The cuts arrived regardless.A WARN notice filed last weekshows that 213 people have been laid off at the office of ZeniMax Online Studios in Maryland. Another 116 roles were axed at the office of ZeniMax Media Inc. in Montgomery County
A company unable to effectively communicate its vision and manage expectations cannot provide job security. Instability, by extension, is corrosive. It would be heresy to believe people will be capable of working efficiently when their employer is, in the words of one
“Good work is not going to save your job at this company. It used to be, back in the day, that you want you would come to Zenimax to retire. […] If you came here, that they were not going to let you go.” Those days, it appears, have been consigned to history under Microsoft
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