--- title: Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? |... description: Xbox has cut 3,200 jobs and divested five studios including Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Arkane as part of a major restructuring under new head Asha Sharma.... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion-z2rxli69w twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? | Opinion | daily.dev og:description: Xbox has cut 3,200 jobs and divested five studios including Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Arkane as part of a major restructuring under new head Asha Sharma.... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion-z2rxli69w og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Z2rxlI69W.png og:image:alt: Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? | Opinion og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? | Opinion **[GamesIndustry.biz](https://daily.dev/sources/gamesindustry)** · 9 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Xbox has cut 3,200 jobs and divested five studios including Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Arkane as part of a major restructuring under new head Asha Sharma. The cuts are partly performative cost-saving but primarily reflect an attempt to fix Xbox's long-broken first-party development pipeline. The core diagnosis: Microsoft's hands-off studio management led to IP sitting fallow, projects stuck in development hell, and no coherent software strategy. The proposed fix involves top-down IP management and matching studios to franchises — exemplified by Obsidian being assigned a Fallout title. However, the strategy of focusing only on big commercial titles while cutting smaller teams is criticized as flawed, since successful platforms are built from many audience niches, not just mass-market blockbusters. The human cost — thousands of developers losing jobs due to executive missteps — is called out as contemptible regardless of strategic merit. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox](https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi) · Game Developer · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Xbox's new boss could herald the changes the division needs \| Opinion](https://daily.dev/posts/xbox-s-new-boss-could-herald-the-changes-the-division-needs-opinion-llakopmk5) · GamesIndustry.biz · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Trouble at Xbox](https://daily.dev/posts/trouble-at-xbox-cfkgerom3) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#microsoft](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft), [#game-development](https://daily.dev/tags/game-development), [#xbox](https://daily.dev/tags/xbox) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion-z2rxli69w) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? | Opinion","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion-z2rxli69w","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion-z2rxli69w"},"datePublished":"2026-07-10T13:51:25.855Z","dateModified":"2026-07-12T13:02:45.047Z","description":"Xbox has cut 3,200 jobs and divested five studios including Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Arkane as part of a major restructuring under new head Asha Sharma....","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/87c83db8bcddd71ac1798698406ff69b?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/87c83db8bcddd71ac1798698406ff69b?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"GamesIndustry.biz","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"GamesIndustry.biz","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/be1a78592d5340248e5204f8007b82be","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/gamesindustry"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion-z2rxli69w","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"microsoft,game-development,xbox","timeRequired":"PT9M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GamesIndustry.biz","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/gamesindustry"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? | Opinion"}]} ```