Developers at The Coalition, the Microsoft studio behind the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, are reportedly anticipating layoffs following a period of intense work on the title. Despite the game's anticipated release, sources indicate a prevailing sense of unease and a reluctance to celebrate due to recent redundancies within Xbox and broader structural changes.
According to a report from Eurogamer, staff at The Coalition have been "crunching hard" in the final months of E-Day's development. While the studio previously felt somewhat insulated from the widespread layoffs affecting Microsoft, the winding down of E-Day's production has fueled concerns about their own job security. "The mood is certainly 'let's not celebrate the game until we're three months post launch, just in case', which is very unusual," one source told Eurogamer.
Another employee expressed expectations of "the next wave" of layoffs or potential reorganization under Activision, a possibility heightened by recent major shifts within Xbox. Earlier this year, Xbox announced a plan to cut 3,200 jobs, with initial reductions affecting 1,600 employees. More recently, additional layoffs were confirmed alongside significant restructuring, including the downsizing of Halo Studios and the transfer of the franchise's management to Activision. These changes have reportedly made the situation uncertain for the Gears of War team.
Staff are described as being "on edge" following the recent termination of Gears of War: E-Day's story director, Juan Vaca, just two weeks before the game's launch. "It's like you planned for a year on a meal for your family where everyone will be there and the day of, you get locked out of the building or something and can't join in," one source commented on Vaca's departure.
Microsoft declined to officially comment on the report but acknowledged the hard work put into E-Day, noting that additional out-of-hours work would be compensated with extra holiday time. However, even assurances of immediate safety do not seem to fully alleviate concerns, with one employee stating, "It's hard to believe anything [Microsoft leadership] say anymore after discarding staff in this manner." Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has previously referred to the company's layoffs as "streamlining" that was "great to see."