Report paints a picture of brutal cord-cutting inside Xbox layoffs: ‘Many of us did not know what was happening for weeks’
Microsoft laid off 1,600 Xbox employees last week as part of what the company described as a strategic “reset,” but a new Game Developer investigation reveals the implementation was chaotic and poorly managed.
According to the report, employees across Xbox studios learned they were being terminated during brief video calls with management. During these notifications, the company disabled chat functions, permanently muted microphones, and in some cases automatically turned off cameras—preventing managers from even seeing the employees they were dismissing.
The communication failures left staff in a state of distress and confusion. Employees reported not knowing what was happening for weeks afterward, forced to speculate about their futures. “It was left to all of us to speculate and spiral and worry,” one affected employee stated.
The chaotic execution of one of the gaming industry’s largest recent layoffs raises serious questions about how Microsoft managed internal communications during the restructuring. The incident highlights broader concerns about how major tech and gaming companies handle employee notifications during mass layoffs. Industry observers warn the layoffs could have significant ripple effects as 1,600 experienced game developers enter the job market, potentially reshaping the landscape of game development across the industry.