Juan Vaca, the story director for the forthcoming title Gears of War: E-Day, has been laid off as part of the latest wave of workforce reductions at Xbox. This news comes just days after Vaca celebrated the game reaching its gold status, signifying the completion of its primary development.
Xbox announced significant layoffs and studio restructuring on September 22 as part of a corporate "reset." Over 260 employees were reportedly affected by this round of cuts, following a previous round in July. Vaca confirmed his departure on social media, stating he is seeking new opportunities in games, film, or television.
Vaca joined The Coalition in 2022, contributing to the narrative development of Gears of War: E-Day. His role involved overseeing narrative teams and cross-disciplinary groups throughout the story's creation process. It remains unclear how many other employees at The Coalition were impacted by these layoffs. Xbox has been contacted for further comment.
The timing of Vaca's layoff is particularly poignant, occurring just four days after he shared on social media platforms, including LinkedIn, that Gears of War: E-Day had gone gold. This milestone means the game is finalized and ready for disc production, with a planned launch of October 6.
Recent Xbox developments have also included the integration of the Halo franchise under Activision and the consolidation of its Forza development teams into a single studio. The broader impact of these organizational changes on existing and upcoming projects is yet to be fully determined.