Xbox is apparently the latest company to join the long line of studios laying off employees, if new reports are to be believed.
According to an internal Xbox memo seen by both The Verge and IGN, Microsoft will lay off 1,900 staff from its gaming workforce.
The Verge's Tom Warren says the principal target of the layoffs will be Activision Blizzard, the gaming giant Microsoft purchased in 2022 (although the merger was only approved in October last year).
The memo, which was written to staff by Xbox chief Phil Spencer, says that the layoffs are part of reaching a "sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business".
To that end, Xbox has made the "painful decision" to cut almost 2,000 jobs from its 22,000-strong team, Spencer says. One of the key personnel departing is Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, although it's not clear whether he's being laid off or leaving voluntarily.
According to The Verge, Blizzard chief design officer Allen Adham is also departing, and an unannounced survival game in development at the company has been canceled as well.
He goes on to say that full severance benefits "informed by local employment laws" will be provided, and that Xbox will continue to "invest in areas that will grow our business".
It's arguably not a great look for a company that recently crossed the $3 trillion (yes, that's "trillion") mark in terms of worth, although naturally, different divisions of Microsoft will operate under different conditions.
These layoffs are the latest in what's becoming a rather depressingly long chain of companies letting employees go in recent months.
Within the last few weeks alone, Outriders developer People Can Fly, Embracer subsidiaries Lost Boys Interactive and 3D Realms, and many more have either confirmed layoffs or have been reported to be letting staff go.
Over the last few months, we've seen studios like Hasbro, Codemasters, and Amazon's gaming division laying off employees as well, so it's safe to say it's not a particularly great time to be working in the gaming industry.
Xbox has yet to confirm the reported layoffs officially. We'll update you as soon as we hear any kind of official confirmation.
