as a result of today's microsoft layoffs, much of warcraft rumble's team is being let go – around 100 employees, some who've spoken with aftermath say – and the game will no longer receive new content. other blizzard departments affected include customer service and marketing

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— Nathan Grayson (@nathangrayson.bsky.social) 2 July 2025 at 21:14

Sad to see people lose their jobs. Hopefully they can get back into the work force sooner rather than later.


As for the consumer side, sucks to see Perfect Dark and Everwild getting the axe while some other games more likely being affected.

Shameless self promotion. I've got a video discussing the layoffs. 

Here is what I've been able to put together of all the studios at Xbox and which ones we know have been hit with at least some layoffs. When I say "some laid off" I mean at least a handful have been let go, but we don't know how many.

• Arkane Studios
• Beenox
• Bethesda Game Studios
• Bethesda Softworks (ZeniMax marketing team hit)
• Blizzard Entertainment (Up to 100 laid off working on Warcraft Rumble and others hit)
• Compulsion Games (Some laid off)
• The Coalition
• Demonware
• Digital Legends
• Double Fine Productions
• Elsewhere Entertainment
• Halo Studios (Some laid off)
• High Moon Studios (Some laid off)
• id Software
• Infinity Ward
• Inxile Entertainment
• King (200 laid off)
• MachineGames
• Mojang Studios (Some laid off)
• Ninja Theory
• Obsidian Entertainment
• Playground Games
• Radical Entertainment
• Rare (Everwild cancelled and layoffs)
• Raven Software (Some laid off)
• Sledgehammer Games (Some QA laid off)
• The Initiative (Shut down and Perfect Dark cancelled)
• Treyarch
• Turn 10 Studios (~50% let go)
• Undead Labs (Some laid off)
• World's Edge
• Xbox Games Studios Publishing
• ZeniMax Online (MMORPG cancelled and layoffs)
• Xbox user research team (50% laid off)

New poll idea: most disappointing MS game cancellation announcement of 2025.

OMG, one hour ago I was browsing my Steam wish list and noted one game was delisted, but couldn't see what it was. I just did a name search for Perfect Dark on the store and yeah, it's over, the one Microsoft game I had any interest at. Way to fucking go.

Yeah like 10 minutes before I saw the breaking story, I went over to my Steam wishlist and saw a game was missing, but couldn't figure out which game it was till after the fact lol

Next time mass layoffs come around, I'll hold up a poll of which studio everyone thinks is getting shutdown lol

•At least 5 employees were laid off, they received an invite to a meeting with organization leaders, and two (very long) hours later, the Teams call began.

•The mood at the studio is tense, especially when it comes to one project that was recently in crisis, according to the developer. "I don't think anybody is really happy about the quality of the product right now," they said. "There's been a lot of tension and pep talks trying to rally folks to ship."

•Since 2023, there's been a general shift toward working with contracted studios — rather than individual contractors — in the United States and Europe to speed up Halo production.

•Developer says Microsoft is trying their damndest to replace as many jobs as they can with AI agents.

Yeah. Time to stop supporting this company. From game purchases to canceling Game Pass. Pirate their stuff. If someone tries to say that pirating will hurt the studios. It doesn't matter if they do well or not. MS fires them anyway.