Here's a List of Everyone Affected by Xbox's Massive Layoffs

Thousands fired, three games canceled, and at least 12 studios impacted by Microsoft's sweeping job cuts.

We hoped last week's reports would turn out to be fake news, but sadly, that turned out not to be the case – Microsoft has indeed carried out another round of layoffs, the third one in 2025 and allegedly the largest one since January 2023.

Xbox

While the company has yet to issue any official statement justifying why the firings had to be implemented, they did confirm the layoffs in the briefest of statements shared with Windows Central, saying that they "continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace." It's claimed that around 4% of the workforce – roughly 9,000 people – were affected, though the tech giant itself hasn't provided exact figures, so take that number with a grain of salt.

The company's gaming division, represented by Xbox Game Studios, was affected as well, with Phil Spencer announcing the layoffs in an internal memo shared with Xbox employees. Following the public reveal of the cuts, a wave of reports and social media posts have surfaced, showing that at least 13 game development studios were impacted, with three games canceled and one studio shut down entirely.

Here's a breakdown of the impacted studios and the extent of the damage:

ZeniMax Online Studios

Our list opens with the developer of The Elder Scrolls Online, ZeniMax Online Studios, which was hit with layoffs to such an extent that they had to cancel their unannounced MMO, codenamed Blackbird. In addition to an unknown number of terminated employees, Studio Head Matt Firor is also departing after 18 years of being in charge, with Joseph Burba taking over as the studio's new leader.

Bethesda

Adjacent to ZeniMax Online Studios is Bethesda Softworks itself, which has also been hit, with LinkedIn posts shared by those impacted revealing that a significant number of employees were fired, including longtime veterans with over a decade at the company.

The Initiative

According to Jez Corden, citing an email from Xbox Game Studios president Matt Booty, the development studio The Initiative is being completely shut down, while its in-progress Perfect Dark reboot has been canceled.

Rare

The same email has also revealed that Everwild, an action-adventure video game developed by Rare, is being shut down as well, with an unknown number of its devs being let go. According to VGC, Gregg Mayles – Rare's most experienced and influential game designer, known for his work on Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie – will leave the company after more than 35 years.

King

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports that King, Microsoft's Stockholm-based division and developer of Candy Crush, is laying off approximately 10% of its workforce – around 200 employees – citing anonymous sources.

Blizzard

Blizzard's official statement and social media posts from affected employees reveal that most of the Warcraft Rumble team has been laid off, and as a result, Blizzard is winding down the game's development, promising regular bug fixes and updates but no new content.

Raven Software

Raven Software, a Call of Duty developer that collaborated with Infinity Ward and Treyarch on 2020's Warzone and Black Ops Cold War, and led development on 2024's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, got hit by layoffs, though the exact number of affected employees is unclear.

Sledgehammer Games

The same goes for another CoD dev, Sledgehammer Games, which worked on Advanced Warfare, WWII, Vanguard, and Modern Warfare III, which has also seen an undisclosed number of job cuts.

High Moon Studios

Rounding out the trio of Call of Duty developers, High Moon Studios is also reported to have undergone eliminations, according to CharlieIntel.

Turn 10 Studios

Percentage-wise, Turn 10 Studios, the developer behind the Forza Motorsport series, appears to be one of the studios hit by Microsoft's layoffs the hardest, with Jason Schreier reporting that half of its workforce has been fired.

Halo Studios

Halo developer Halo Studios, formerly known as 343 Industries, has lost at least five people. Engadget reveals that even before the layoffs, there was tension at the studio, with many developers dissatisfied with the quality of Halo Studios' in-production games.

Undead Labs

State of Decay creator Undead Labs is also on the list, with multiple now-former Undead developers revealing on social media that they got canned.

Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.