Overview
- Satya Nadella, speaking on the Sources Podcast on Friday, said he feels “fantastic” about Xbox’s remaining studios and intellectual property and called the streamlining under CEO Asha Sharma “great to see.”
- The reorganisation began with a July plan to cut 3,200 roles and is now roughly three quarters complete, with an additional round of about 268 layoffs reported this week.
- As part of the reset Microsoft has moved or redeployed franchises and teams, divested some studios and allowed others to go independent, with reported moves including Halo to Activision and Obsidian under Bethesda.
- Nadella said Xbox must “invent the right sustainable business model” to reach more players and return the division to growth next fiscal year, framing the cuts as part of that shift.
- Industry outlets and developers have criticised the approach for its human cost, loss of talent and project cancellations and warned the changes could shrink development capacity and slow Xbox’s release slate.