Microsoft’s dramatic overhaul of its gaming division is entering a new phase. In a September 22 memo to staff titled “Continuing Our Reset,” Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty confirmed 268 more roles are being eliminated across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and Xbox Game Studios management — and announced a sweeping reorganization of who makes what.
According to Booty, the cuts put Microsoft roughly three-quarters of the way through the restructuring it announced back in July.
Halo’s next chapter belongs to Activision
The headline change: Activision will develop the next Halo title. A new, purpose-built team — operating separately from Call of Duty development — will lead the project. Halo Studios isn’t disappearing entirely, but it shrinks to a small team focused on supporting the Halo community and existing games.
Activision’s remit is expanding well beyond Halo, too. It will also oversee World’s Edge (Age of Empires) and Rare (Sea of Thieves).
Bethesda, King, and the racing merger
The reshuffle touches nearly every corner of Xbox’s empire:
- Bethesda expands to include Obsidian Entertainment, which continues work on Grounded and a new Fallout project in collaboration with Bethesda Game Studios.
- King (Candy Crush) absorbs Microsoft Casual Games, uniting the company’s casual-games operations.
- Playground Games and Turn 10 merge into a single studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises.
Studios go independent — but Ninja Theory’s future is uncertain
Booty also updated staff on Xbox’s studio divestitures. Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, and Undead Labs have all completed management buyouts, regaining their independence — with Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3 still launching day one on Game Pass.
The darker news concerns Ninja Theory: two separate acquisition agreements for the Hellblade developer fell through, and Xbox will now “begin consultation with employees on a proposed closure.” Consultations with Arkane are expected to continue through the end of the year.
What it means
Taken together, this is the most significant reorganization of Xbox’s studios since the Activision Blizzard acquisition closed. Fewer business units, franchises consolidated under the publishers that already handle them, and a clear signal that Microsoft wants its gaming division leaner and more focused. Whether that focus produces better games — or just fewer of them — is the question hanging over everything.
Source: Xbox Wire