After Xbox closed four studios on May 7, new reports suggest that Microsoft’s cutbacks are far from over. Jason Schreier and Tom Warren, two popular industry journalists, report that the company has offered Zenimax employees “voluntary buyouts” as a cost-saving measure.
Microsoft plans to cut 10,000 jobs
Microsoft has decided to cut back on Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games and Roundhouse Studios. But Microsoft employees fear the company is planning to lay off even more workers, from Q&A to producers, testers and more – all part of Zenimax, a company it acquired in 2021 for $7.2 billion.
According to Schreier, Xbox is offering all of these employees “voluntary redundancy packages.” Microsoft is also reportedly warning employees that more layoffs are coming, so this restructuring isn’t complete yet.
"It's tough to support nine studios around the world with a small central team with an ever-increasing workload," Zenimax CEO Jill Braff reportedly said of the cuts. "I think we were on the verge of collapse." Now, the company will reportedly focus on fewer, higher-grossing titles like DOOM or Fallout, all of which have sold millions.
