It’s been hard to ignore Xbox news this year. Back in July, Microsoft announced plans to eliminate over 3000 jobs within Xbox. Today’s memo from chief content officer Matt Booty is another confirmation of massive moves within the organization. This one is also huge for fans of Halo, Age of Empires, Fable, and Sea of Thieves as all four franchises are shifting hands.
Halo Leaves Halo Studios
The next title in the Halo series is moving to Activision, who are building a new dedicated team to lead it. This will be a separate group from the Call of Duty franchise. Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) will see a reduced role: supporting existing Halo games, the community, and esports. They are not involved in the next iteration of Halo.
I think it will be interesting to see just how well Activision’s live-service experience and Halo’s identity blend, and I’ll be watching closely.
Activision isn’t just getting Halo either. The imprint will also assume control over World’s Edge (Age of Empires) and Rare (Sea of Thieves). This means that three of Xbox’s main IPs are now consolidated under one roof. That’s a lot for one announcement.
More Shuffling
In addition to the moves at Activision, a handful of other changes came out of the memo. The following is a highlight of some of the major moves.
- Obsidian will join Bethesda. The studio behind the popular Fallout: New Vegas is officially becoming part of Bethesda, the studio behind other Fallout projects, The Elder Scrolls franchise, and Starfield. Obsidian brings the Grounded franchise along with it. This move makes sense, as the next Fallout project is collaboration between the two studios.
- Turn 10 and Playground Games are merging. The teams behind Forza and the UK-based Fable studio are combining into a single team. This is also a move that makes sense, as the studios have had a longstanding creative partnership.
- Undead Labs will spin off. The team behind State of Decay has transitioned to an independent imprint, similar to this year’s earlier announcements of Compulsion Games and Double Fine leaving Xbox. State of Decay 3 will still launch on Game Pass, but will do so under a different publisher.
Two Studios in Trouble
Ninja Theory and Arkane are still at major risk. According to reports, two separate deals to sell off the Hellblade studio fell through. Microsoft is considering alternative options, but also pursuing a potential outright closure.
Based in France, Arkane’s fate is still unknown. Consolidations there should continue through the end of 2026.
On top of the consolidations and spin-offs, 268 roles were eliminated across various studios including Halo Studios, Xbox Game Studios, and other first-party teams.
More on the “Reset”
Microsoft says that this round puts the initial July restructuring at around three-quarters complete. Booty’s memo aligns with Xbox’s messaging since the summer. The organization envisions fewer and more aligned units, producing better and sharper output than a scattered model. Well, that’s the idea anyway.
Unfortunately for Ninja Theory and Arkane, they are currently out of contention for this large consolidation. I really hope that these studios don’t run out of road before a solution is found.
Again, our focus should be on those who lost their jobs today. Xbox is doing what it thinks is needed to make its business survive long term which is understandable, but that doesn’t mitigate the fact that people are now looking for work. Here is to all those affected landing new roles quickly.
