Xbox has officially announced widespread changes to its studio structure, including the merging of numerous studios, the handing over of Halo to Activision, and the potential closure of Ninja Theory.
In July, Microsoft enacted sweeping layoffs across the Xbox business, initially affecting 1,600 jobs, with another 1,600 planned by the end of Microsoft’s business year.
The next stage of this process has now been confirmed in a statement written by Xbox COO Matt Booty, with 268 roles being “eliminated” across Halo Studios, other first-party studios and the Xbox Game Studios management and “central functions layer”.
According to Booty, this now brings Xbox “roughly three-quarters of the way through previously announced restructuring”.
As part of Xbox’s new plans, Activision will take control of the Halo franchise going forwards, with “a new, purpose-built Halo team that is separate from ongoing development and plans for Call of Duty”.
Halo Studios will not close entirely but will remain as “a small team” which will “continue supporting the Halo community and games in-market”.
Activision will also take over Age of Empires studio World’s Edge and Sea of Thieves developer Rare, Xbox has announced.
Obsidian Entertainment – known for such titles as The Outer Worlds, Avowed and Grounded – will be rolled into Bethesda, as it continues working its current projects including Grounded and a new Fallout game.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-officially-announces-more-layoffs-and-widespread-changes-to-its-entire-studio-structure/
