Xbox reportedly planning three more rounds of layoffs
A report says Microsoft’s gaming division could stage further cuts in October, November and January, but Xbox has not confirmed the timetable.
Xbox is reportedly preparing three further rounds of layoffs, with the first expected as early as October, according to a Fortune report cited by Eurogamer.1 The report says another round could follow in November, with a third planned for January 2027. The timetable is not confirmed by Microsoft, and the people quoted warned that plans could still change.
What happened
The reported timetable would extend a restructuring programme that has already reshaped Microsoft’s gaming division. Xbox announced 268 role eliminations in September across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and central functions, while also reorganising several teams.2 Earlier cuts in July removed more than 1,600 roles, according to Eurogamer’s account of the wider reset.1
The latest report does not identify which teams would be affected next. That matters because Xbox has already been consolidating its studio structure: Activision is taking on a wider remit that includes Rare and World’s Edge, Bethesda is adding Obsidian to its group, and Playground and Turn 10 are being brought together around Forza and Fable.2
The bigger Xbox reset
Microsoft’s public explanation is that the changes are intended to reduce fragmentation, focus its publishing operations and return the division to profitability. Xbox president Matt Booty described the September changes as part of a previously announced restructuring, while saying the company would support the people affected.2
There are also unresolved questions around individual studios. Eurogamer reports that The Coalition, the team behind Gears of War: E-Day, is facing concern from staff following the game’s release. That is a report about employee fears rather than confirmation of planned cuts, so it should not be treated as evidence that the studio will definitely be affected.1
The report also places the alleged timetable alongside Xbox’s next-generation plans, including the Helix hardware programme. That does not establish a direct connection between the console strategy and the potential layoffs; it does show why the news lands during a particularly important period for Microsoft Gaming.
Our opinion
If the reported schedule is accurate, Xbox’s reset is becoming a rolling process rather than a single restructuring announcement. The company has explained the business logic, but repeated cuts still carry a cost in lost experience, disrupted teams and uncertainty around the games those teams are building. Until Microsoft confirms the next round, the October, November and January dates should remain allegations — not announcements — but the scale of the earlier reductions makes the report worth watching.
The most useful next step is clarity: which teams are affected, what support is being offered, and how the changes alter Xbox’s game pipeline. Without that information, a calendar of possible cuts tells readers when to expect news, but not what the reset will mean for the people or projects behind Xbox.