Microsoft once again went to a large labor force shrinking and announced that it would separate ways with about 9,100 employees. This number corresponds to about 4 percent of the total number of technology giant. Especially the structuring on the game side has reached remarkable dimensions. In this wave led by the Xbox department, many developer studions also close their doors. The signal of the decision in question recently came.
Phil Spencer’s message to employees said that Microsoft Gaming will either stop or reduce activities in some areas for the long -term success of Gaming. According to this statement, not only projects, but also in the administrative layers are also going to simplify. Thus, both agility and activity increase are aimed. Behind this planning is the purpose of managing resources more efficiently.
Microsoft canceled some projects
The King Studio, the developer of Candy Crush, was another major unit that received his share of dismissal. According to Bloomberg, approximately 10 percent of King’s total employees, ie 200 people, were dismissed. Similarly, large game manufacturers such as Zenimax confirmed that they have shrunk their cadres. The fact that Microsoft went to such a large -scale shrinkage on the game branch had echoed throughout the sector.
In the Turn 10 studio, more than 70 developers working in the Forza Motorsport series were separated. In addition, Perfect Dark and Everwild projects, which have been developing for a long time, have been completely canceled. The Initiative Studio on Perfect Dark was completely closed after these developments. These decisions show that Microsoft will now focus on projects with high probability and financial return potential.
The total of the company’s recent layoffs has exceeded 16,000 people as of 2025. In January 2024, about 1,900 people were dismissed in Activision Blizzard and Xbox units. In the following months, a total of 1,000 people from Holokens and Azure teams experienced a separation. 650 employees were added to the Xbox section in September.
According to Phil Spencer’s statement, these decisions were taken according to future goals, not the current success of the company. Although Spencer emphasized that there is an increase in the number of players and playing times, it is necessary to make some difficult choices to make success sustainable. It was stated that all these changes were made in the name of long -term growth and quality content production. In other words, decisions are shaped by thinking about tomorrow, not today.
In addition to legal compensation rights to employees who are dismissed, health insurance and career transition support are provided. The HR department conducts the process by directly contacting the affected people. In addition, former employees who applied to open positions in Microsoft Gaming will be given priority. This shows that employees can have the chance to re -evaluate in another position in the company.
Although these decisions may adversely affect employee motivation, Spencer states that this process is not unilateral. Emphasizes that the contributions of employees play a major role in the coming of the company. In this context, it is clearly stated that the efforts of those who have been dismissed are not ignored. In the statements made, the decisions taken are not related to personal competence, but in particular by underlining structural needs.
Microsoft’s balance in the game world, the new projects will develop in the coming process will be understood more clearly. Which content will be protected and which will be shelved will reflect the company’s strategic priorities. In this period, when investments in the game sector became more selective, it has become more priority for Microsoft to turn to safe and stable areas instead of large projects. All these developments show that a model based on simplification and productivity in the future vision of the company is adopted.