Xbox Staff Fear “entire studios” Being Closed In Upcoming Cuts – Who Is At Risk?

Just
days
ago,

reports
began
to
spread
that
Microsoft
is
planning
more
cuts
across
its
business.
According
to
these
reports,
the
layoffs
will
come

as
part
of
a
major
restructuring,
with
Xbox
being
in
the
line
of
fire.
Now,
a
reliable
industry
insider
is
saying
entire
studios
may
be
at
risk.

George
Broussard
shared
what
he
had
heard
over
on
BlueSky,
saying
“I’m
hearing
internal
developer
stuff
where
people
at
most
studios
are
anxious
and
worried.”

Before
we
carry
on
with
Broussard’s
claims,
let
me
provide
some
insight
into
the
man
so
you
can
determine
how
much
trust
you
want
to
out
into
his
words.

George
Broussard
is
a
veteran
game
developer
best
known
as
the
co-creator
of
the
Duke
Nukem
series
and
co-founder
of
Apogee
Software
(later
3D
Realms),
where
he
played
a
pivotal
role
in
pioneering
the
shareware
distribution
model
and
producing
numerous
influential
PC
games. With
credits
on
over
70
titles,
including
Duke
Nukem
3D
and
Shadow
Warrior,
Broussard
has
decades
of
hands-on
experience
as
a
designer,
producer,
and
studio
leader,
giving
him
deep
industry
insight
and
credibility
regarding
insider
developments
and
trends.
These
days,
he’s
typically
found
in
the
indie
space,
or
providing
insight
and
commentary
on
social
media.

In
other
words,
Broussard
knows
a
lot
of
people,
so
I’m
confident
that
he
has
a
lot
of
sources
for
this
information.
Of
course,
that
doesn’t
help
verify
what
the
people
themselves
are
telling
him,
or
whether
it
might
be
exaggerated
by
anxiety
over
potentially
losing
their
job
etc.

According
to
Broussard,
anywhere
from
1000-2000
jobs
are
expected
to
be
lost.
Approximately
10,000-12,000
people
are
currently
working
under
Xbox,
meaning
a
substantial
percentage
face
losing
their
jobs.

Broussard
also
says
he
has
heard
that
“entire
studios
may
be
shuttered.”

That
raises
the
question
of
which
studios
could
be
at
risk.
Based
on
The
Verge’s
report
linked
at
the
beginning
of
this
article,
it’s
Central
Europe
where
the
restructuring
is
taking
place.
Xbox
sales,
marketing,
and
support
offices
all
have
a
heavy
presence
there,
so
they
are
the
most
likely
targets,
in
my
estimation,
and
it’s
possible
that
what
Broussard
heard
may
be
a
slight
miscommunication,
with
“studios”
also
meaning
departments
in
those
areas.

Central
Europe
includes
id
Software
Frankfurt,
King
Berlin,
Elsewhere
Entertainment,
Infinity
Ward
Poland,
and
ZeniMax
Online
Studios
Hungary.

Out
of
that
list,
I’d
imagine
Elsewhere
Entertainment
would
be
at
the
most
risk,
simply
by
virtue
of
being
new.
The
studio
was
founded
in
2024
with
the
aim
of
producing
a
brand
new
triple-A
IP,
and
is
rumoured
to
be
working
on
an
open-world
project.
It
would
be
cruel
to
shutter
them
so
soon
after
being
founded,
but
that
sort
of
thing
has
happened
many
times
before.

id
Software
Frankfurt
is
a
smaller
branch
of
id
and
is
mostly
focused
on
the
technology
side
of
things,
such
as
the
id
Tech
engine
that
powered

DOOM:
The
Dark
Ages.
I
don’t
think
they
would
be
facing
a
full
closure,
though,
unless
Microsoft
has
really
lost
faith
in
them
following

The
Dark
Ages
which
is
being
reported
as
having
very
low
sales.
Of
course,
Game
Pass
is
Microsoft’s
big
focus
these
days.

It’s
also
worth
remembering
that
with
Microsoft
now
focusing
on
metrics
like
player
counts
rather
than
pure
sales
due
to
Game
Pass,
what
we
outsiders
view
as
successful
and
unsuccessful
may
not
reflect
what
Microsoft’s
beliefs.

Likewise,
Infinity
Ward
Poland
is
also
a
R&D
focused
group
that
supports
the
Call
of
Duty
pipeline.
A
major
point
in
its
favour
is
its
continued
growth,

as
reflected
in
Polish
business
filings.

ZeniMax
Online
Studios
Hungary is
another
support
studio,
one
that
works
on
The
Elder
Scrolls
Online
and
is
reported
to
be
helping
Zenimax
with
on
an
unannounced
triple-A
project.

King
Berlin
seems
an
unlikely
choice.
While
new,
it
acts
as
a
European
hub
for
the
mobile
development
company,
and
King
keeps
bringing
in
cash,
although
it
only
accounts
for
about
7%
of
Xbox’s
total
revenue.
For
example,
Activision
Blizzzard
brought
in
just
over
$7
billion
in
revenue
last
year.
Cuts
could
be
made
at
King,
but
I
don’t
think
they
are
shuttering
the
office
in
Berlin.

In
short,
from
my
limited
perspective
it’s
difficult
to
judge
what
studios
could
be
at
risk.
If
we
extend
our
view
outside
of
Central
Europe,
there
are
a
few
I
would
consider
being
in
the
danger
zone.