Today, January 18, 2023, Microsoft confirmed the layoff of as many as 10,000 of its employees, a move implemented to contain costs and cope with the slowdown in the global economy. Thanks to a Bloomberg report, we discover that the maneuver also affected the company’s gaming division.
According to a report signed by Jason Schreirer, Microsoft also fired employees of 343 Industriesdevelopment team responsible for Halo Infinite, e Bethesda, which this year will release games of the caliber of Redfall and Starfield. According to the sources of the Bloomberg reporter, who, not being authorized to speak publicly on the subject, preferred to remain anonymous, some of the people fired they were veterans who had been working with Xbox for more than a decade. Celebrities who have already confirmed their firing include Bethesda PR Renee Sogueco, Halo Infinite Senior Designer Kevin Schmitt e il Community Manager di The Elder Scrolls Online Sam Luangkhot.
According to a report by Lords of Gaming, 343 Industries would have suffered several layoffs, most of which would have to do with “the single player sphere of the studio”. For the business insider, Microsoft would have deliberately fired employees considered less efficient, at least in some divisions of the company. According to the newspaper, the Redmond top management would have asked the managers to indicate the employees who under normal conditions would have been directed to a six-month “performance coaching” course, with the aim of sending them away more quickly.
The true impact of the layoffs on the Xbox division is not yet clear, however it is not the only department to have suffered a downsizing. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft’s maneuver also affected the engineering department and the team of Hololenswhile The Verge also talks about the marketing division. The news comes on the anniversary of the announcement of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which after a year has not yet been completed.
