Xbox is barely Xbox anymore

The latest changes at Microsoft’s gaming division signal a further retreat from the Xbox brand.

The latest changes at Microsoft’s gaming division signal a further retreat from the Xbox brand.

Xbox has become a shell of its former self — and things are only getting worse. As part of its planned cuts impacting around 3,200 workers , the company announced today more changes that will further dilute the brand. Studios are being consolidated, others are on the brink of being closed altogether, and Xbox’s most iconic franchise, Halo , is being moved to a new developer. The future of Xbox looks more uncertain than ever.

Today’s news includes “eliminating 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the [Xbox Game Studios] management and central functions layer.” But there is also plenty of reorganization happening, particularly when it comes to Xbox subsidiary Activision Blizzard. Development of Halo is moving over to Activision, helmed by “a new, purpose-built team” that is separate from the Call of Duty teams . Halo Studios will continue to exist, for now, primarily as a support studio. Meanwhile, Sea of Thieves developer Rare and Age of Empires studio World’s Edge are both moving under the Activision umbrella.

Similarly, Obsidian is being moved out from Xbox Game Studios and under Bethesda Game Studios, where it will refocus on the Fallout franchise , and all of Microsoft’s casual games, like Minesweeper and Solitaire , are moving under Candy Crush developer King. Meanwhile Playground and Turn 10, the studios responsible for Fable and Forza , are merging into one .

This is all part of the Xbox “reset” outlined by new CEO Asha Sharma, which kicked off with 1,600 employees being laid off in July, with 1,600 more planned over the following fiscal year, leaving many employees in an awkward state of limbo. A pair of studios were also spun off from the company, with both Double Fine and Compulsion going independent. Today’s layoffs are part of that second wave that was previously announced.

The reason for all of the changes, according to Sharma, is to eventually become a company that reaches “more than a billion people each day,” a nearly impossible goal that will be especially challenging to pull off given all of the cuts . The plan is to focus on known hits like Minecraft , Halo , and Candy Crush , while eschewing everything else and reevaluating just how much the company is investing in its Game Pass subscription service.

“For Halo , our goal is clear: make the greatest Halo game ever, worthy of its universe and legacy, while staying true to what made players love it in the first place,” Activision president Rob Kostich said in a statement. “It is a bold ambition, one that this franchise deserves. We have already begun assembling a purpose-built team, unique in capability and talent, ready and excited to deliver this next chapter with the community.”

Some of today’s moves, like expanding King and focusing more on franchises like Halo and Fallout , fit into that framework.