The wide-ranging Xbox layoffs this week also affected Halo Studios, the development team formerly known as 343 Industries that is working on multiple upcoming Halo titles.
Engadget reported that at least five people were let go from the team, with between 200 and 300 people remaining at the company going forward. One anonymous developer told the site that they were upset with how Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer spoke about the health and prosperity of the Xbox business in the same memo announcing the dramatic cuts.
“I wasn’t sure what part of that I was supposed to be proud about,” this person said.
Halo Studios has multiple upcoming Halo games in the works, and not all of them are progressing entirely smoothly, it seems. A developer told the site, “I don’t think anybody is really happy about the quality of the product right now. There’s been a lot of tension and pep talks trying to rally folks to ship.”
Microsoft just recently announced that it would share more details on the future of Halo in October, and all eyes will be on the studio following the disappointment of Halo Infinite. Microsoft has made multiple major changes to its Halo team in recent times, including rebranding the company to Halo Studios, installing new senior leadership, and switching development to Unreal Engine 5.
The Xbox cuts this week hit many studios, including Turn 10, Rare, ZeniMax Online Studios, Raven Software, High Moon, Sledgehammer Games, The Initiative, Blizzard, and others. Microsoft also cancelled its new Perfect Dark game and Rare’s Everwild, along with a new MMO.
The cuts to Xbox came as part of a wider restructuring at Microsoft, which said it was laying off fewer than 4% of its total global workforce, amounting to around 9,000 people. Despite what you might have read, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is not leaving the company.
