Xbox has announced a further wave of layoffs, cutting 268 roles across its first-party studios, management, and central functions. This latest round of job reductions follows a larger elimination of 1,600 positions earlier this year, with Xbox executive vice president and chief content officer Matt Booty stating that the company is "roughly three-quarters of the way through previously announced restructuring."
The significant impact of these cuts is felt at Halo Studios, with Activision now set to take over the development of future Halo titles. A new team will be formed within Activision for this purpose, while a smaller contingent at Halo Studios will continue to support existing games and the community. This move places the development of the Halo franchise, a cornerstone of the first-person shooter genre, under the same umbrella as Call of Duty.
In addition to the changes affecting the Halo series, Xbox is also reconfiguring other internal studios. Bethesda's purview will expand to encompass Obsidian, which will continue its ongoing projects like Grounded and a new Fallout title developed in conjunction with Bethesda Game Studios. Similarly, King will broaden its responsibilities to include Microsoft Casual Games, consolidating leadership in casual game design and live operations. Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios will merge into a single entity focused on the Forza and Fable franchises, formalizing a long-standing creative partnership.
The company is also proceeding with studio divestitures announced previously. Compulsion Games and Double Fine will now operate independently. Undead Labs has secured a new publishing deal but will still release State of Decay 3 on Game Pass. However, plans for Ninja Theory's future are uncertain, as Xbox will begin consultations regarding a potential closure after separate agreements fell through. Arkane Studios faces a similar situation, with consultations expected to continue through the end of the year.
These developments come as other major studios also face workforce reductions. Bungie, the original creators of Halo, recently laid off a significant portion of its Destiny 2 development team, though the company has also announced plans to reintroduce vaulted content to Destiny 2.