After Xbox Split, Double Fine Lays Off 23 Employees in 'Painful Action'
The studio said the cuts were necessary as it becomes independent again, and Xbox has laid off 1,600 people with another 1,600 planned.
- Double Fine announced 23 layoffs yesterday as the studio transitions back to independent management after leaving Xbox, downsizing to a size it can sustain.
- Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced a massive restructuring earlier this month, prompting the spin-off of studios including Double Fine and Compulsion Games due to profitability concerns.
- The cuts impact around 25.5% of the roughly 90-person team at The San Francisco-based studio, famously founded by LucasArts alum Tim Schafer.
- An Xbox spokesperson confirmed Double Fine returned to independent management earlier this week, retaining its IPs, catalog, and runway for future games.
- Xbox continues its massive shake-up, having laid off 1600 individuals one month ago with another 1600 planned throughout the coming year to return to growth.
26 Articles
26 Articles
'We Look Forward to Seeing What They Create Next' — Xbox Speaks Out After Double Fine Lays Off 25 Percent of Staff in Transition to Independent Status
Double Fine, best known for creating the 2005 platform game Psychonauts, has laid off 25.6% of its staff three weeks after Xbox’s massive restructuring efforts were revealed.The studio announced the layoffs on July 28, 2026, confirming that this downsizing was a direct result of becoming an independent company after Xbox unloaded them as part of its own restructuring earlier this month.“As a small, tightly-knit team, these actions are not taken …
Double Fine Productions regained freedom from Xbox, but not without a sacrifice that reminds us that this industry has become a cruel and tiring place
It's been three weeks since Xbox's massive "reset" that saw over 3,200 employees lose their jobs, and the damage reports of its aftermath continue to pour in. The latest casualty report of this "reset" comes from Double Fine Productions, one of the studios that actually managed to escape the worst of it by going independent.However, Double Fine Productions didn't survive unscathed. On July 28, 2026, its studio head, Tim Schafer, announced on Blu…
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