Game developers are not affected this time, as the Redmond-based tech giant has continued to cut staff in other departments.

Stephen Totilo reported in the Game File newsletter that this time Microsoft has laid off 650 people from its video games division. Xbox boss Phil Spencer (who is also the division’s CEO) explained the new round of layoffs: “As part of aligning our post-acquisition team structure and managing our business, we have made the decision to eliminate approximately 650 positions across Microsoft Gaming – primarily in corporate and support functions – to align our business for long-term success.

The last time Microsoft implemented a major layoff wave (when it got rid of 1,900 people), it had to let go of employees from Xbox, Activision Blizzard King, and Bethesda, so games, devices, and experiences were certainly affected. Nothing proves this better than the cancellation of Odyssey. That was the codename of Blizzard’s survival game, and it was supposed to be a brand new IP, and recently some images of the project have been leaked…

We had to report a lot of layoffs again this year. On January 22, Riot Games announced that it had laid off 530 people, at the end of February Sony Interactive Entertainment laid off 900, Electronic Arts laid off 670, and the former also closed its London studio while it was working on a modern fantasy online co-op action game. In March, SEGA sold Relic Entertainment and laid off 240 people from its European teams, and in April, Take-Two laid off 5% of its workforce, shut down Roll7 (OlliOlli) and Intercept Games, and cancelled some unannounced projects. In May, Microsoft closed Arkane Austin (Dishonored, Prey 2017, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hi-Fi Rush; but Krafton took over the team and the Hi-Fi Rush IP in August), and Roundhouse Studios was folded into ZeniMax Online.

So who’s next?

Source: WCCFTH, Game File