Microsoft, and by extension Xbox, decided to conduct one of the biggest series of layoffs in the company’s history in order to cut costs. From the gaming side of things over 3000 people lost their jobs and around 4+ studios were cut from the Xbox brand. This includes Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion and Undead Labs, with only Double Fine and Compulsion being able to keep their independent status.
This is tragic for a variety of reasons, with of course the loss of so many jobs being the main pain point, but these studios not only produced good games but even had games announced as part of the recent Xbox Game Showcase, tainting that entire event with the retrospective outlook that the people behind so many of these projects are no longer going to be working on them. Xbox has said that the games announced during the event are still planned to be created, but it’s just not the same.
In an industry of profit chasing, AI driven nonsense it’s becoming clearer and clearer that things are heading downhill, to the point that a crash is almost certainly inevitable. When will that be? Who knows, but it all points to things just not looking good for the industry. We’ll most certainly see the results of all of this over the coming months, but suffice it so say I just hope these people can find work again soon enough.
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.