Xbox’s mass layoff period is somewhat less destructive than at first glance. As the gaming giant looks to cut thousands of jobs from its own payroll, new CEO Asha Sharma isn’t chucking established developers in the trash, but responsibly selling them off alongside their IP.
In the IP world, it’s often deemed better to kill off a studio than to let others have their pick at it. Xbox itself did this last year, killing new studio The Initiative instead of letting 2K have ownership over the Perfect Dark IP. This time, however, the still-destructive layoff season is being conducted in a more reasonable manner.
Via Bloomberg, Xbox is looking to part with five of its studios: Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Arkane Lyon. According to the report, Double Fine and Compulsion Games are both set to move towards independence, keeping their staff and IPs with some additional runway funding and their catalogue of prior releases.
Additionally, Ninja Thoery and Undead Labs are both being sold off to undisclosed buyers. This sale includes the studio’s ongoing projects, Senua and State of Decay 3, which were recently shown off at the recent Xbox Games Showcase. These projects are not cancelled, and will seemingly still be published by Xbox when they’re released.
The worry, then, it Arkane Lyon. Right now, even with a new studio head in place, Xbox is beginning a consultation process with the studio. According to the report, the company is currently reviewing “potential strategic options” in a bid to sell or spin out the studio.
This is all part of the ongoing Xbox reset, a bid to put the console maker back to a reasonable state and focus on their big IPs. This includes Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, Halo, Forza, and Gears. Alongside the studio divestments, there are major cuts with thousands of jobs planned to be axed this year.
Xbox’s moves are destructive, and yet somehow less destructive than this time last year. Last year, studios closed, talent was cut, and projects were cancelled. It was a bloodbath for gaming resulting in the loss of Perfect Dark, Everwild, a new MMO from Zenimax, and more. This time, studios are surviving, IPs aren’t being chucked in the gutter, and projects are alive.
There is still devastation, but in an industry where many would rather kill an entire studio than let someone else play with their toys, Xbox’s move is remarkably mature. This is a year where Sony killed Bluepoint and newly-acquired team Dark Outlaw Games. This is just a year after Xbox killed multiple teams. While Sharma’s tenure at Xbox is definitely still worrisome, the outcome is undeniably cleaner than expected.
The reality is that divesting studios, selling them off to publishers who want their projects, is the only real win in a situation like this. It’s clear Xbox needs, or Microsoft wants, cuts, and that’s usually done in the most destructive way possible. While obviously not a win for Xbox, it’s at least a more respectful move than years’ past.
