Microsoft has implemented another round of heavy cuts to its Xbox gaming team following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In this latest round of layoffs, Microsoft is eliminating about 650 positions from its gaming team, but no additional studios have closed and no other games are canceled as a result of the move, which Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed on September 12. In January, Microsoft cut 1,900 gaming positions, bringing the number of cuts to the company to about 2,550 since the $75.4 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard closed in October 2023.
In a memo to staff obtained by IGN, Spencer said the cuts came as part of Microsoft’s effort to align the company’s “post-acquisition team structure and managing our business.”
The approximately 650 layoffs from Microsoft Gaming “mostly” impact the “corporate and supporting” functions of the business, the company said. Affected staffers in the US are getting severance, extended healthcare, and outplacement services. Packages for those outside of the US are available, too, and vary by location.