Microsoft Expands Workforce Cuts Across Gaming Divisions
Microsoft is shedding 9,100 jobs, representing roughly 4 percent of its global workforce, in a sweeping reduction targeting its gaming ecosystem. The cuts arrive as the company attempts to flatten management structures and refocus on core growth areas, marking yet another turbulent chapter for staff following a year of repeated layoffs.
Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming, cited the need for increased agility and effectiveness as the primary driver for the downsizing. The impact is felt deeply across internal studios: the King division, responsible for Candy Crush, is cutting 10 percent of its staff, roughly 200 people. Meanwhile, the Turn 10 studio behind Forza Motorsport is losing over 70 employees. The restructuring has also resulted in the cancellation of the projects Everwild and Perfect Dark, with the latter's development studio, The Initiative, facing closure.
These reductions follow a relentless pattern of downsizing throughout 2024. Microsoft previously cut 1,900 roles in January, followed by further losses in the HoloLens and Azure cloud teams in June. Employees describe a persistent state of uncertainty, noting that successive rounds of performance-based cuts have severely eroded internal morale across the organization.
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