From The Verge · Andrew Webster · · 2m
Xbox is barely Xbox anymore
Microsoft's gaming division is retreating from the Xbox brand through massive layoffs and studio reorganization.
In brief
Microsoft's gaming division is retreating from the Xbox brand through massive layoffs and studio reorganization. Xbox has transformed from a console business with exclusive games into a holding company for acquired studios like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, making the Xbox brand itself increasingly irrelevant…
Quick answers
- What is Xbox anymore?
- Xbox once meant a console with exclusive games. Now the console is secondary and exclusives are unclear. The brand has been diluted by Game Pass expansion and acquisition strategy.
- What is the key takeaway from Xbox is barely Xbox anymore?
- Xbox has transformed from a console business with exclusive games into a holding company for acquired studios like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, making the Xbox brand itself increasingly irrelevant.
Xbox announces massive restructuring
Microsoft is cutting 3,200 jobs across its gaming division and consolidating studios. Halo development is moving to Activision Blizzard, while other franchises are being shuffled between subsidiaries.
Halo moves to Activision
Xbox's most iconic franchise is being handed to Activision Blizzard with a new purpose-built team separate from Call of Duty. Halo Studios will shrink to a small support team.
“For Halo, our goal is clear: make the greatest Halo game ever, worthy of its universe and legacy.”
Studios reshuffled across divisions
Sea of Thieves developer Rare and Age of Empires studio World's Edge move to Activision. Obsidian shifts to Bethesda to focus on Fallout. Casual games go to King.
Fable and Forza studios merge
Playground and Turn 10, the teams behind Fable and Forza, are combining into a single studio as part of the consolidation effort.
CEO Asha Sharma's reset plan
New CEO Asha Sharma is executing a reset that started with 1,600 layoffs in July. Today's cuts are the second wave, with 1,600 more planned for the next fiscal year.
Goal: reach a billion people daily
Sharma says the restructuring aims to make Microsoft reach more than a billion people each day. The strategy focuses on known hits like Minecraft, Halo, and Candy Crush while cutting everything else.
What is Xbox anymore?
Xbox once meant a console with exclusive games. Now the console is secondary and exclusives are unclear. The brand has been diluted by Game Pass expansion and acquisition strategy.
Xbox Game Studios nearly empty
After layoffs and spinoffs, Xbox Game Studios is mostly gone. Only a handful of studios like The Coalition remain, and their future looks uncertain after their games ship.
Xbox is now Activision and Bethesda
Almost all major Xbox games now come from Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, both acquired for billions to boost Game Pass. The traditional Xbox brand is less important than ever.
The big picture
Xbox has transformed from a console business with exclusive games into a holding company for acquired studios like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, making the Xbox brand itself increasingly irrelevant.
