Xbox is currently going through a massive ‘Reset’ which will see a total of 1600 layoffs taking place today and 3,200 employees being let go by the end of the current fiscal year. Also, four studios including Arkane Lyon, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games will be sold off and all of them possibly going independent with Compulsion already has as confirmed by the devs themselves while Arkane studios is “beginning required consultation with its Works Council”.
However, if there’s one saving grace amid all of this, it’s that no previously announced games which include Ninja Theory’s Senua, Arkane’s Blade and more, have been cancelled, as stated by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma in a recent lengthy post on X/Twitter.
“Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.”
This effectively means that we don’t have to worry about games like Blade and Senua getting cancelled which is great and definitely a praiseworthy decision on part of Xbox.
Sharma also explained in her statement that Xbox is not in a healthy place right now: “Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content.”
“While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.”
