Microsoft begins a “reset” of its Xbox business that includes cutting 3,200 jobs and changing ownership of several internal game studios, according to multiple reports. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirms the workforce reductions and says the company is exiting a set of studios from the Xbox Games Studio banner. Four studios are leaving the Microsoft structure: Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. For two of them, Microsoft plans to shift them back to independent status. For the other two, reports say they are being sold to new, unnamed owners.
Several outlets also describe Arkane Studios as part of the broader restructuring but with its outcome not yet finalized. Arkane Lyon is reported to be “in consultation” or “in talks,” with employee works councils negotiating “strategic options,” and the studio’s fate described as uncertain. One report also says Xbox is considering selling or spinning out Arkane Studios.
In reports that detail timing, about 1,600 redundancies begin immediately, with the remaining cuts expected over Microsoft’s next financial year.
