This is not the first time, but this new wave of layoffs is particularly important. This July 2, 2025, Microsoft confirms the rumors mentioned for several days and announces to separate from around 9,000 people, part of which in its video game division, Xbox.
In these dismissals, Xbox in particular will fall on its workforce in Zenimax (which Bethesda possesses) and in King (candy Crush Saga), Where 10% of the workforce, or about 200 people, are affected. Part of their European marketing services are also affected.
The rare English study, whom we owe Banjo and KazooieHe is also a victim of these layoffs. According to VGC, video games AlwaysIn development for ten years, it has been canceled calmly.
In an email sent to the equipment and transmitted by Windows Central, Phil Spencer, the Chief of Microsoft Gaming, talks about “ending certain sectors or reducing them” to “focus on the areas of strategic growth.”
The Xbox brand leaves exclusive
The brand, which is only Annecdal in the console sector, has been redirected for the development of multiplatform games and is no longer exclusive for a few months. Since 2024, she has sacrificed some of her flagship, now available (or in the process of being) in PlayStation 5, of which War gears, Forza horizon either Sea of thieves.
The objective now is to focus on the game pass, its catalog of games accessible through a subscription, and is available in a TV application, PC, portable PC consoles or smartphones.
With these new layoffs, Microsoft continues an economic plan operated since the beginning of 2024. It is not the only technological giant who misfortune its workforce: Google, goal, but also Amazon, Intel and many others preceded it. In this sector, more than 280,000 people lost their jobs worldwide in 2024, more than 90,000 in 2025 according to Rationfx statistics.
Source: BFM TV
