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The story
According to U.S. media reports, Microsoft is planning further layoffs and studio consolidation within its Xbox division. Halo Studio, Rare, and World’s Edge are reportedly being moved under Activision Blizzard, while Ninja Theory faces closure after a sale deal fell through, and Turn 10 is said to be merging with Playground Games. Obsidian is also being moved under Bethesda, though its ongoing projects will reportedly continue. On 5ch, some criticized the move, saying “don’t call plain layoffs a ‘reform,’” while others took a calmer view of the studio reorganizations.
According to multiple reports, Xbox is planning another round of layoffs and studio mergers, as previewed today.
Per a rumor from NateTheHate, Xbox is reportedly moving Halo under Activision Blizzard.
Source: x.com / Original post here
What people said
Isn't Asha (nickname posters use for current Xbox leadership) going way too far?
They basically announced on the official site that the org had gotten bloated for no reason and that they'd cut most of the unnecessary middle layers — so yeah, Asha's actually following through.
Please don't you dare call plain layoffs a "reform."
Are they finally ending the yearly releases?
I recall internal documents leaked during the FTC trial showing that, even before the acquisition, they planned to drop annual CoD releases starting in 2027.
Honestly, just take Sledgehammer off CoD duty already.
https://krsw.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/ghard/1790010415/
So this is what he meant.
So in the end it's just the other half of the layoffs they already warned about before, huh.
And it's that same leaker who's always leading the charge bashing Kojima, again.
Typical Sony flame-stoking, as usual.
Sony's actually competent, but
all MS and Nintendo can do is send out their "funnels" (fanboy squads) to whine "It's Sony's fault!" (a mocking phrase for reflexive Sony-blaming) online —
nothing but incompetence there.
They should just dig up bad PlayStation news every day and get articles written about it instead.
Yeah, that thing!
If they'd instead gone independent, crowdfunded, and said "Now we can finally make bold, experimental games!" while shedding the MS jacket, plenty of fans would've followed them — but instead it's just a sequel.
honestly, of course it ended up like this.
In the first place, they let the studios make games, the games turned out to be crap, they didn't sell, and the breakup is just the result of that.
Going forward, studios that can't deliver results won't last long, and new IPs probably won't get greenlit easily either.
Kojima was probably picked up because his needlessly high name recognition still has value, but he'll likely retire after PHYSINT anyway, so that'll probably be the end of Kojima Productions too.
I mean, honestly,
when a gamer is running the show, what you'd hope for is the stubbornness to never let a bad game ship —
like Nintendo flipping the table and starting over.
The moment Phil couldn't do that, being a "gamer" at the top stopped meaning anything.
The biggest waste is killing something like Redfall without polishing it, when more work could've made it good.
343 gets folded into ABK because all they can make is garbage games.
And yet, in this sorry state, they still jump at money-guzzling Kojima just to keep up appearances.
Some "Asha reform" this is, lol.
Asha: "We're focusing on major titles."
Well, I guess that's just how it is.
Image actually matters a lot, though.
Microsoft's games honestly give off a strong "washed up" vibe, and the image is bad, to be blunt.
Cutting the games with no prospects and putting money into Kojima — even if it's mostly bluster — because there's at least some potential, seems like a fair enough call, doesn't it?
– Halo Studio, Rare, and World's Edge move under Activision
– Ninja Theory faces closure after the sale deal collapsed
– Turn 10 merges with Playground Games
https://www.theverge.com/news/998586/activision-halo-xbox-reorganization-layoffs
Lol, surprisingly these mergers don't seem too bad.
They should just move Ninja Theory's people somewhere else, though.
Turn 10 disappearing too, just as expected, huh.
Good thing Obsidian just went under them.
It's not a merger, and existing titles are continuing, so no problem there.
Even though this just means Bethesda's going to work Obsidian to the bone for its own IPs.
The article itself says existing projects will continue.
It even lists specific game titles, and the fact that you didn't even read it says it all.
Honestly, none of Obsidian's recent new games have really stood out, and most fans just want them to make Fallout anyway.
Well, of course they're continuing.
They're not just going to throw it away.
That comment makes no sense.
If being under them is fine, then what's with the fans disappearing?
It'd be clean if inXile also merged into Bethesda and went back to where it belongs.
An Interplay revival.
Consolidation itself isn't necessarily a bad thing.
My ID's back to normal now, but that was me.
Didn't they say Activision games are coming to Nintendo hardware for 10 years?
The 10-year deal only covers CoD.
Don't be pathetic and beg for stuff.
Background and Key Points
Microsoft has carried out multiple rounds of layoffs in its Xbox division since acquiring Activision Blizzard for roughly $69 billion in 2023. Internal documents disclosed during the FTC litigation reportedly indicated a plan to end annual Call of Duty releases starting in 2027. Halo Studio is the renamed successor to 343 Industries, the studio behind Halo Infinite, making this a turning point where it loses much of its independence. On the thread, many took the official framing of this reorganization as “reform” to be little more than an extension of plain staff cuts. Opinions also clashed over Obsidian’s situation — some argued fans would drift away now that it’s under Bethesda, while others pointed out that existing projects were explicitly stated to continue, with some misunderstandings arising from posters misreading the article.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “MS to soon carry out the second half of Xbox’s mass layoffs, consolidating multiple studios including Halo Studio.”
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