Microsoft cuts 6,400 jobs as Xbox sheds 3,200 and spins off 4 studios
What's new: Xbox plans another 1,600 role cuts over 12 months as Microsoft refocuses the gaming unit on bigger franchises.
Microsoft is cutting 6,400 jobs across the company, including 3,200 at Xbox, as it pushes through one of the biggest shake-ups in its gaming business. More than 1,600 Xbox roles were cut immediately, with the rest due over the next year. Xbox is also spinning off four game studios — Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Ninja Theory and Undead Lab — and starting to separate from a fifth. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told staff the division had lagged peers on profitability despite heavy spending, including Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal in 2023. The reorganization also shifts Minecraft maker Mojang and Candy Crush developer King to report directly to Sharma.