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More devastating news for the video game industry, as Xbox gear up for even more layoffs. This time, it begun with Jessie Thomas, a former Xbox Culture Lead let go by Microsoft just yesterday. Even more alarming, Thomas found out they were let go while on vacation.
However, more lay-offs might be on their way. Industry analyst Tom Warren has alleged that “more Xbox layoffs are coming,” although no source was provided for this.
With Tango Gameworks having been shut in the past few months, alongside Alpha Dog Studios and others, it’s not looked promising for Microsoft and Xbox’s portfolio. It’s even more alarming that Xbox are firing staff from its own in-house studio, which is not a good sign at all. If this is to be the case, it’s made even more bitter by reports from earlier on this year alleging that Phil Spencer takes home an “estimated $10 million dollars in a yearly salary before stock opinions.” 1,900 employees were made redundant in early January, and that’s before they even began the Bethesda subsidiary closures.
Xbox fans enjoyed a fairly promising start to the year with an Xbox Showcase that impressed all. It’s got a pretty fantastical slate of upcoming games, and though few have been developed by Xbox Gaming themselves, it certainly looked like it had an exciting year ahead. Now that a wave of layoffs looks likely, it’s going to be interesting how Project Latitude plays out without a majority of its staff.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier previously alluded to more Xbox layoffs in a “a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished,” suggesting that Tom Warren’s report is substantiated.