SUSE, a Linux software company, has offered longtime staff members the option of voluntary separation packages. The move suggests potential workforce restructuring at the organization.
Undead Labs confirmed significant layoffs following its independence from Xbox, but studio head Philip Holt stated that State of Decay 3's 2027 launch will not be affected. The developer separated from Xbox as part of Microsoft's broader restructuring and is now operating as an independent studio.
Microsoft laid off 268 Xbox staff including Juan Vaca, story director for Gears of War: E-Day, just one week before the game's early access launch. The timing is particularly harsh as Vaca had celebrated the game going gold days earlier, and similar layoffs affected Halo Studios' cinematic director Josh Daniels one day after his promotion.
Microsoft laid off 268 Xbox employees across multiple studios, including nearly half of World's Edge, the developer behind Age of Empires. Creative Director Adam Isgreen, who spent 16 years at Microsoft, was among those affected and announced his departure on social media.
SUSE is offering longtime staff members voluntary separation packages. The article title indicates the company is conducting workforce reduction discussions with employees.
Microsoft's XBOX has reorganized its studios, moving Rare under Activision and Obsidian Entertainment under Bethesda to strengthen franchises and consolidate operations. The restructuring follows July 2026 layoffs and affects ongoing projects including Grounded and a new Fallout collaboration, with Activision also taking the lead on the next Halo title.
Juan Vaca, story director for Gears of War: E-Day, was laid off on September 22 as part of Xbox's latest round of cuts affecting over 260 employees, just four days after celebrating the game going gold. The layoff came during a broader corporate restructuring at Microsoft that also affected Halo and Forza teams, though E-Day's October 6 launch plans remain unchanged.
Meta's Muse AI agent is accelerating labor displacement concerns, with major tech companies conducting significant layoffs this year. However, economists note that while AI eliminates some jobs, it also creates new employment opportunities and business dynamics, with projections suggesting 30% of AI-displaced workers may be rehired at higher costs by 2029.
Xbox is laying off 268 workers as part of a broader 3,200-person reduction announced in July, with studios being reorganized and merged. Activision will develop the next Halo game as a mainline installment, taking over the franchise from 343 Industries. Several studios including Ninja Theory are being shut down while others are being spun out or absorbed into larger divisions.
Oracle laid off 546 employees from its Cloud Infrastructure division in America, representing 7.6% of the unit's workforce. The cuts most heavily affected software developers, managers, and data center support staff. The layoffs are part of Oracle's broader cost-cutting measures amid significant AI infrastructure investments.
Xbox transferred Rare and the Halo franchise to Activision, announced the closure of Ninja Theory after failed sale attempts, and cut 268 roles across studios. The restructuring includes consolidating multiple studios under different divisions and moving Halo development to a new team at Activision separate from Call of Duty.
Ninja Theory, developer of the Hellblade series, is entering consultation for a proposed closure after two separate acquisition agreements fell through. The studio, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2018, had been put up for sale following initial Xbox layoffs in July. The closure affects the development of Senua, a new Hellblade game announced just months earlier.
Microsoft is announcing Xbox layoffs today affecting hundreds of employees as part of a larger restructuring plan that will consolidate game studios, with a total of 3,200 Xbox positions to be eliminated by June 2027.