Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told the New York Times that Xbox is not for sale, after a summer of layoffs that hit the division in the thousands. For anyone planning around Xbox, the useful signal is which games the cuts spared and which ones Sharma has promised to fund.
Perspective Coverage
5 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 24%
- Operator
- Operator 37%
- Investor
- Investor 39%
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption50
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives70
- Confidence58
Halo development goes to a new team inside Activision, Rare and World's Edge move with it, and Obsidian now reports to Bethesda. Xbox Game Studios keeps a handful of teams and 268 fewer roles.
Perspective Coverage
7 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 23%
- Operator
- Operator 47%
- Investor
- Investor 30%
Reality
- Evidence78
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives55
- Confidence74
Microsoft cut 268 gaming jobs this week, laid off most of Halo Studios and moved Rare, World's Edge and Obsidian to new parents. Anyone planning around Game Pass or Xbox hardware now has to sort their commitments by what Microsoft has actually decided.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives45
- Confidence50
The 268 roles Xbox eliminated this week take Microsoft roughly three-quarters of the way through a reduction of up to 3,200. The reorganisation around them makes Activision the home of Halo.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 23%
- Operator
- Operator 37%
- Investor
- Investor 40%
Reality
- Evidence74
- Adoption70
- Hype gap+18
- Incentives72
- Confidence76
Matt Booty's memo to Xbox staff moves Halo out of the studio built to make it, folds Rare and World's Edge into Activision, and leaves Ninja Theory in consultation on a proposed closure.
Reality
- Evidence70
- Adoption66
- Hype gap+18
- Incentives72
- Confidence65
Microsoft eliminated 268 roles on Tuesday and moved studios under its larger publishers, giving a new Activision team the next Halo while Halo Studios keeps a smaller crew on the games it has already shipped.
Reality
- Evidence42
- Adoption62
- Hype gap+22
- Incentives58
- Confidence46
Microsoft's latest Xbox restructure is mostly a change of which publisher owns which franchise. The teams involved land in four different places, depending on whether a home was found for the games, the people, both or neither.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption35
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives60
- Confidence55
Halo Studios keeps Halo Infinite and Campaign Evolved in market while a new team inside Activision builds the next flagship, and the same reorganisation moves Rare's Sea of Thieves developers and World's Edge under Activision.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption45
- Hype gap+24
- Incentives74
- Confidence68
The Xbox reorganization eliminates 268 roles, puts Rare and World's Edge under Activision, and leaves Halo Studios supporting Halo Infinite with a small crew. Announced Xbox cuts this year now reach nearly 1,900.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption52
- Hype gap+18
- Incentives70
- Confidence62
Activision picks up Halo, Rare and World's Edge as this week's 268 eliminations take Microsoft's Xbox reset about three-quarters of the way through, a total that Matt Booty's memo counts the sold studios inside.
Reality
- Evidence70
- Adoption70
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives80
- Confidence66
Consolidation has left EA, Microsoft and Ubisoft circling legacy brands. The operative question is who still holds authority to approve an unproven project.
Reality
- Evidence30
- Adoption42
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives45
- Confidence34