Layoffs themes

2026-10-24 1 story

• Xbox's first chief operating officer Helen Chiang leaves Microsoft just three months into the job 3 sources

2026-10-23 7 stories

• As devastating Xbox "reset" continues, Dishonored studio Arkane Lyon reportedly only has until November to find a new buyer before it's closed 10 sources
• BioWare Is No More, But Its Impact On Queer Representation In Video Games Will Live On Forever 6 sources
• The Next Mass Effect Sounded Like John Wick In Space 4 sources
• Mass Effect crossover items have seemingly been removed from Battlefield 6 following EA's sudden closure of BioWare 4 sources
• Cancelling Mass Effect And Closing BioWare Was An Obvious Thing For EA To Do, Experts Say 3 sources
• Canadian Politician Wants the Government to Bail Out Mass Effect Developer BioWare 3 sources
• Woim is the earth-guzzling, self-bisecting sokoban pick-me-up I needed after a week of games industry disasters

2026-10-22 10 stories

• Games industry mourns sudden BioWare closure - "Anyone who participated in this travesty should be ashamed" 13 sources
• Mass Effect TV Show Still Going Ahead After EA Cancels Mass Effect 5 And Closes BioWare, Report Says 6 sources
• Following shock BioWare closure, scope of EA job cuts becomes clear as layoffs hit Respawn, Maxis, Full Circle, EA Motive, and more 3 sources
• BioWare's cancelled Mass Effect game would've learned from Baldur's Gate 3 and The Witcher to deliver "a level of autonomy and choice that no other game has" 3 sources
• EA Could Sell BioWare’s IP As It Looks To Tackle Its Massive Debt, Former Studio Boss Says 2 sources
• Splash Damage acquired this studio just 3 months after laying off a bunch of people—now it's laying them off, too
• Skate Studio Also Hit With Cuts as Scope of EA's Mass Layoffs Becomes Clearer
• Everything We Know About Project Helix, the Next Xbox
• Every Video Game Studio That Has Shut Down in 2026
• EA Has A New Plan For Madden, And It Leans Into Everything The Company Gets Wrong

2026-10-21 5 stories

• BioWare is closing down and Mass Effect 5 is cancelled, months after Saudi Arabia's $55bn EA buyout 24 sources
• EA cancels unannounced The Sims project, trims the Skate team and reportedly plans to lay off 400 workers: "We're the number one publisher in Western HD gaming" 5 sources
• Star Wars Battlefront 3 Reportedly In Development By EA’s Top Shooter Studios 4 sources
• Xbox reportedly planning three more rounds of layoffs, with the first wave coming as early as this month 3 sources
• On the podcast: Apple app review woes, EA job cuts, Supercell, Monopoly Go and more

2026-10-20 2 stories

• Xbox to Slash Even More Jobs This Month, with Further Cuts in November and January 2 sources
• The studio behind Life is Strange, Jusant, and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is desperately struggling to stay afloat

2026-10-19 3 stories

• It's the End of An Era for Netflix Movies
• Dune: Awakening studio faces layoffs as it restructures following console release
• Around 60 Netflix Games staff affected amid company-wide layoffs

2026-10-17 2 stories

• Oh dear, half a year after launching Samson, Swedish developer Liquid Swords have filed for bankruptcy
• Funcom is laying off yet more developers as it pivots to supporting Dune: Awakening and Conan Exiles

2026-10-16 2 stories

• Xbox had much bigger plans for Halo 2 and 3 remakes before layoffs canceled them
• Fishlabs announces layoffs due to "changing project requirements," development and support teams affected

2026-10-15 1 story

• Ubisoft to reduce workforce across Düsseldorf, Berlin, and Mainz as part of "proposed voluntary departure plan" 2 sources

2026-10-14 6 stories

• Ubisoft closing Trials developer RedLynx and downsizing Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced team in Singapore 13 sources
• Conclusion of Rockstar's employment tribunal delayed into November, almost day and date with GTA 6's release 2 sources
• Ubisoft Plans About 100 Cuts Across German Studios
• On the podcast: what’s going on at Rovio, Miniclip’s new ad network, Squad Busters’ last rites, RedLynx closes, more
• Netflix Lays Off Over 1,000 People, Around 6% of the Workforce
• Funcom to lay off staff as it pivots to focusing solely on Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening

2026-10-13 3 stories

• Rovio’s rebuild means refocusing on Angry Birds, Sonic and picking new projects carefully
• Owlchemy CEO: VR is still an emerging market because it hasn't passed the 'cafe test'
• Despite Huge Changes For The Series, Halo Fest 2026 Is Going Forward, And News Is Coming Soon

2026-10-12 1 story

• Asha Sharma: Xbox must make “hard choices” but still commit to building enduring new IP

2026-10-10 1 story

• The studio behind Star Wars Zero Company is bringing back some of its furloughed staff

2026-10-09 3 stories

• Undead Labs boss "reluctant to share" number affected by layoffs: "I would hate to reduce the impact to those individuals to a number or statistic"
• Talking Point: The Xbox Console Experience Has Had A Phenomenal Year So Far
• Rockstar HR manager claims he had "little interest" in staff's union membership status as fired GTA dev union-busting trial heats up

2026-10-08 3 stories

• 'Star Wars Zero Company' Studio Brings Back Furloughed Devs in Positive Update 3 sources
• Trump administration suspends Microsoft's ability to apply for green cards, alleging fraud 2 sources
• Gears of War boss says the next game won't take seven years to make as he dances around the question of layoffs 2 sources