Xbox Devs Call For Worker Protections Ahead Of Likely Layoffs

Unionized video game workers at Microsoft’s Xbox division are demanding enhanced layoff protections ahead of anticipated mass job cuts expected to conclude by the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year on June 30, 2026.

Representatives from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), United Video Game Workers, and unionized staff from Microsoft’s first-party studios—including Bethesda Softworks and Activision Blizzard—held a press conference to outline their demands. These include advance notice of impending layoffs, temporary hiring freezes to allow remaining developers internal advancement opportunities, and other worker protections.

The push comes after reports from industry insiders, including Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, that Xbox will experience a “bloodbath” of layoffs and studio closures. The concerns are compounded by context from Microsoft’s previous 2025 layoffs, which affected 9,000 employees company-wide and resulted in cancelled projects, including the anticipated Perfect Dark reboot. Studio The Initiative, which was developing Perfect Dark, was shuttered entirely without releasing a game.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently warned that the division’s slim profit margins were no longer sustainable, signaling the company’s intent to restructure. Unionized workers characterize the anticipated cuts as punishment for following Microsoft’s directives, arguing that executives’ strategic decisions should not fall on rank-and-file developers.

The CWA has called for immediate bargaining with Microsoft to establish these protections before layoffs are finalized.

Sources

• Xbox Devs Call For Worker Protections Ahead Of Likely Layoffs
• ‘We’re Done Paying for Executives’ Failures’ — Unionized Xbox Developers Hold Press Conference to Make Their Point as Microsoft Reportedly Readies Massive Layoffs
• Unionized Xbox Workers Demand Layoff Protections Ahead of Expected Cuts to Microsoft’s Gaming Business