Overview
- Reporting in Fortune says Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has already cut about 1,868 roles and is planning three further rounds of layoffs this month, in November, and in January to reach a total of roughly 3,200 cuts.
- Microsoft has rearranged and in some cases divested first‑party studios, shifting oversight of Halo to Activision and moving Obsidian under Bethesda, with studios such as Double Fine, Compulsion and Undead Labs made independent again.
- Fortune reports that Xbox is preparing an overhaul of Game Pass that would let users buy features à la carte within a tiered structure, a change positioned to improve margins but not yet confirmed by Microsoft.
- Sources say Xbox is also planning new hardware: a reported handheld targeted for 2027 and a next‑generation console called Project Helix aimed at 2028, with internal cost estimates for the console put between $1,200 and $1,800; these product plans remain unconfirmed by the company.
- Employees report low morale after repeated cuts and restructures, with long‑tenured staff departing and concerns that lost institutional knowledge, withheld bonuses, and reduced teams could delay releases and weaken studio viability.