Stories

Mon, 06 Jul 2026

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs and shrinks Xbox in 'significant restructure'

The sweeping layoffs equate to 2.1% of Microsoft's workforce, with 1,600 immediate job losses at Xbox.

* Microsoft has announced it will cut 4,800 jobs, roughly 2.1% of its workforce.
* Xbox will bear a large number of these layoffs, with over 1,600 roles immediately axed and another 1,600 lost in the coming year.
* Four Xbox game development studios - Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Ninja Theory, and Undead Lab - will be spun off as part of the changes.
* Microsoft's executive vice president Amy Coleman said the company needs to focus on areas that can deliver for customers amid a "fast-changing industry".
* Asha Sharma, newly appointed Xbox CEO, said the layoffs are necessary for a "reset" across Xbox's entire content portfolio, platform, and operations.
* The cuts come at an already difficult time in the gaming industry, with many studios still reeling from brutal layoffs in recent years.
* Microsoft has been increasing its spending on AI and may use it to replace some of the lost jobs.
* Analysts say the changes mark a "major reset" for Xbox and that the company needs to define what it stands for in a world where games are moving across console, PC, cloud, and subscription platforms.