Xbox mass layoffs reportedly imminent - what does it mean for gamers?

Microsoft will reportedly make major layoffs to Xbox staff and its studios imminently - but what exactly does it mean for gamers?

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier posted on BlueSky the "mass layoffs" are expected to happen on Wednesday (1 July) after previously reporting the cuts will be part of a "company wide reorganisation" and "managers within Xbox are expecting substantial cuts across the entire group, according to people familiar with the plans". Schreier said "it's expected to be big".

The Verge's Tom Warren reported he has also heard managers "have been briefed about Xbox cuts and wider layoffs in other parts of Microsoft’s businesses". Warren added "one source [told him] Microsoft is restructuring Xbox distribution across central Europe, resulting in some Xbox operations ceasing in some regions".

Soon after, George Broussard, who's best known for his work on Duke Nukem 3D, claimed up to 2,000 people could be affected and "entire studios may be shuttered".

But what does all of this potentially mean for gamers exactly?

Looking at what's been reported, if Microsoft is indeed "restructuring Xbox distribution across central Europe, resulting in some Xbox operations ceasing in some regions", it seems Xbox could be completely cut off in some European countries.

Xbox is understood to have reduced its presence in parts of this region already but has not stopped entirely, with the exception of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It's not known specifically which countries could be affected.

If entire gaming studios are "shuttered", quite simply, that means no more games from those studios affected.

Fewer staff in any capacity means products, changes and developments can take longer to be delivered to the same standard. More people can work more quickly on delivering something compared to fewer people working to achieve the same outcome.

For Xbox gamers overall, this could all mean fewer original games releasing, shorter long-term support for games that are already available and a potential decline in game quality.

Xbox has not yet responded to a request for comment from indy100 about the reported layoffs.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• The Elder Scrolls 6 new trailer in the works at Bethesda claims insider
• Xbox confirms brand new games releasing this week - and there's 18 of them

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