Over 6,000 people have lost their jobs at Xbox in less than two years

Xbox has quietly cut more than 6,000 roles in under two years: the latest round—part of Microsoft’s 9,100-strong global layoffs—hit about 4,000 Xbox staff, on top of 650 cuts last September and 1,900 earlier. This downsizing follows big acquisitions (Activision Blizzard, Bethesda) but far exceeds the usual 5–20% “duplicate role” cull.

The fallout’s already brutal: Rare stalwart Gregg Mayles (Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie) has left, Everwild and a new ZeniMax project are cancelled, Perfect Dark’s reboot team shuttered, and studio heads have stepped down. Microsoft says it’s all “organisational changes for success,” but with next-gen hardware looming and AI looming in every corner, Xbox’s shape—and soul—remain up in the air.