--- title: The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox description: Xbox announced 3,200 job cuts this week — the fifth major round of mass layoffs in three years — with 1,600 immediate terminations and another 1,600 promised... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox | daily.dev og:description: Xbox announced 3,200 job cuts this week — the fifth major round of mass layoffs in three years — with 1,600 immediate terminations and another 1,600 promised... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/CYIbJbrdi.png og:image:alt: The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox 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. # The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox **[Game Developer](https://daily.dev/sources/gamedeveloper)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Xbox announced 3,200 job cuts this week — the fifth major round of mass layoffs in three years — with 1,600 immediate terminations and another 1,600 promised before fiscal year end. Notable studios cut loose include Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. WARN notices revealed significant layoffs at id Software in Texas, ZeniMax Online Studios in Maryland (379 workers), and Obsidian in California (52+). Unions including CWA Canada condemned Microsoft's handling of the cuts, with Bethesda Montreal losing every union member. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma cited overexpansion and hardware component shortages as causes, while being simultaneously appointed to a Federal Reserve 'Productivity and Jobs' task force. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How many employees did Xbox lay off in its 2026 restructuring? Xbox laid off 3,200 employees, split into two waves of 1,600 each, with the second wave to occur before the end of the fiscal year. The division also cut loose studios Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. This marked the fifth major round of mass layoffs at Xbox in three years. _Follow ongoing coverage of games industry layoffs and restructuring on daily.dev._ ### Which Xbox-owned studios were affected by the layoffs and how many people were cut at each? WARN notices showed 158 ZeniMax employees laid off in Texas (including a majority at id Software), 379 ZeniMax workers cut in Maryland (213 at ZeniMax Online Studios), and at least 52 layoffs at Obsidian in California. Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs were also parted with entirely. _Track studio-by-studio fallout from major publisher layoffs on daily.dev._ ### What did Xbox CEO Asha Sharma say was the reason for the layoffs? Asha Sharma framed the cuts as eliminating management layers to build a flatter organization centered on 'makers,' and told Fortune that Xbox had spread itself too thin financially while facing a hardware component crisis. She said the division's core 'has to be healthy,' calling that necessary but not sufficient for future success. _daily.dev surfaces executive statements and industry reaction for anyone weighing tech layoff narratives._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Trouble at Xbox](https://daily.dev/posts/trouble-at-xbox-cfkgerom3) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Microsoft plans to cut under 2.5% of its workforce in a fresh round of layoffs](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-plans-to-cut-under-2-5-of-its-workforce-in-a-fresh-round-of-layoffs-6eorelkn0) · The Next Web · 1 upvotes · 1 comments - [Xbox announces business 'reset' amid reports of layoffs](https://daily.dev/posts/xbox-announces-business-reset-amid-reports-of-layoffs-foqtxbcca) · Game Developer · 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/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi) ```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":"The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi"},"datePublished":"2026-07-10T11:02:23.799Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:01:28.304Z","description":"Xbox announced 3,200 job cuts this week — the fifth major round of mass layoffs in three years — with 1,600 immediate terminations and another 1,600 promised...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d43fb30bbd85ec10455e16c3fc36db9a?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d43fb30bbd85ec10455e16c3fc36db9a?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Game Developer","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":"Game Developer","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/5fbb7418db8746769a45f55309bbdf13","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/gamedeveloper"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"microsoft,game-development,xbox","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Game Developer","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/gamedeveloper"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The state of play after a truly torrid week for Xbox"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-state-of-play-after-a-truly-torrid-week-for-xbox-cyibjbrdi#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How many employees did Xbox lay off in its 2026 restructuring?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Xbox laid off 3,200 employees, split into two waves of 1,600 each, with the second wave to occur before the end of the fiscal year. The division also cut loose studios Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. This marked the fifth major round of mass layoffs at Xbox in three years. Follow ongoing coverage of games industry layoffs and restructuring on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which Xbox-owned studios were affected by the layoffs and how many people were cut at each?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"WARN notices showed 158 ZeniMax employees laid off in Texas (including a majority at id Software), 379 ZeniMax workers cut in Maryland (213 at ZeniMax Online Studios), and at least 52 layoffs at Obsidian in California. Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs were also parted with entirely. Track studio-by-studio fallout from major publisher layoffs on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What did Xbox CEO Asha Sharma say was the reason for the layoffs?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Asha Sharma framed the cuts as eliminating management layers to build a flatter organization centered on 'makers,' and told Fortune that Xbox had spread itself too thin financially while facing a hardware component crisis. She said the division's core 'has to be healthy,' calling that necessary but not sufficient for future success. daily.dev surfaces executive statements and industry reaction for anyone weighing tech layoff narratives."}}]} ```