Xbox cuts 268 more roles and hands the next Halo to Activision
Xbox is eliminating 268 roles and folding several first-party studios into Activision, Bethesda and King. Ninja Theory faces a proposed closure, and Halo Studios shrinks to a small support team.
What happened
On September 22, Xbox content chief Matt Booty published a memo to staff on Xbox Wire titled "Continuing Our Reset." It confirms 268 roles are being eliminated across Halo Studios, other first-party studios and Xbox Game Studios' management and central functions.
Booty says the actions completed since July, including the studio divestitures, put Xbox roughly three-quarters of the way through the restructuring it announced earlier. The stated goal is fewer business units, with closely related groups aligned and publishing expertise concentrated.
Who moves where
Activision's remit now includes World's Edge and Rare, and it will develop the next Halo game with a new, purpose-built team kept separate from Call of Duty. Halo Studios is left as a small team supporting the existing Halo community and games already on the market.
Bethesda takes in Obsidian, which continues its Grounded work and the new Fallout project. King absorbs Microsoft Casual Games. Playground and Turn 10 merge into one studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises.
Divestitures and closures
Compulsion Games and Double Fine were spun out in August: both went independent under their own management, keeping their IP, back catalogues and runway funding. Undead Labs has now left on similar terms and, with a new publisher, will still release State of Decay 3 on Game Pass on day one.
Two separate agreements for Ninja Theory fell through, so Xbox is starting a consultation with employees on a proposed closure. A consultation involving Arkane is also ongoing through the end of the year. Xbox has scheduled a company-wide town hall for October 6.
Why it matters
The reorganisation changes who makes Halo, Fable, Forza and Fallout, and it puts Ninja Theory's future in doubt. It also shows Xbox's first-party lineup is being reshaped around fewer, larger groups.