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REPORTED · NEWSPublished Jul 7, 2026

Microsoft's Xbox Division Cuts Thousands, Closes Five First‑Party Studios

EMPLOYEES AFFECTED
3,000
SHARE OF WORKFORCE
~1.3%
EFFECTIVE DATE
Jul 6, 2026
3,000 OF 228,000 EMPLOYEES

What we know

Department affected: Xbox / Gaming (Xbox Game Studios and related corporate positions).

Based on news reporting.

Summary

Microsoft began executing a sweeping round of job cuts in its Xbox/gaming division on July 6, 2026, affecting thousands of employees across Xbox, sales, consulting and five first‑party studios. Multiple studios are closing or facing sale/closure, including confirmed closures at Ninja Theory, Double Fine and Compulsion Games (together ~325 jobs at risk) and additional exposure from Undead Labs (~110) and Arkane Lyon, with sources and industry estimates describing the event as involving thousands of positions and potentially the largest single gaming‑industry layoff in history. The cuts follow an Xbox Reset memo citing sustained multi‑billion dollar content spending, low Xbox profitability (approximately 3% projected for FY2026), falling gaming revenue, and Game Pass accounting dynamics that penalized studio performance. Microsoft said it is negotiating with unions and did not confirm exact studio details; the company is also reallocating capital toward massive AI and cloud infrastructure spending.

Microsoft Corporation cut 3,000 jobs affecting its Xbox / Gaming (Xbox Game Studios and related corporate positions) team as of July 6, 2026.

That is roughly 1.3% of the 228,000 people Microsoft Corporation employs.

LayoffTalk has tracked 51 layoff events at Microsoft Corporation since January 2023, affecting a combined 124,423 employees.

Comments (1)

Anonymous by default. Be kind — people reading this may be going through it right now.

LTLayoffTalk StaffStaff3 hours ago

Microsoft Corporation cut 3,000 jobs on July 6, 2026. What did this look like from the inside — which teams, how much notice, what severance was offered? You can post anonymously below.

SOURCE
News reporting
View original source ↗
M
Microsoft CorporationMSFT
Technology · 228,000 employees
51
EVENTS TRACKED
198K
AFFECTED SINCE 2023
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CREATED JUL 7, 2026LAST UPDATED JUL 7, 2026