The Stunning List Of Cancelled Xbox Projects, From ‘Perfect Dark’ To ‘Everwild’
GLOBAL, JUL 2 – Microsoft cancels major Xbox titles and closes studios amid global layoffs as it shifts focus to AI, cloud, and productivity despite record gaming engagement and $26 billion quarterly net income.
- On Wednesday, Microsoft laid off approximately 9,000 employees globally, including shutting down the studio behind Perfect Dark and canceling titles like Everwild and Perfect Dark.
- Following mass layoffs, Microsoft shifts focus to AI and cloud growth, reducing management layers for agility, as Spencer emphasizes strategic realignment.
- Microsoft's Xbox division canceled the unannounced Blackbird MMORPG from ZeniMax Online Studios, shut down The Initiative, and scrapped Rare's Everwild, following strategic shifts toward AI and cloud focus.
- Microsoft's Xbox division layoffs left unionized staff in limbo, with employees waiting hours for job updates and HR offering severance and support, highlighting employee hardship amid project cancellations.
- Beyond the layoffs, Microsoft encourages internal redeployment, but uncertainties linger over whether the strategic shift will enhance or harm Xbox's future creativity and focus.
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Microsoft Laying Off Up To 9,000 Employees, Xbox Cancels ‘Perfect Dark’, Gamers React
Source: picture alliance / Getty / Microsoft / Xbox / Phil Spencer Wednesday was a rough one for Microsoft and Team Xbox. The Seattle Times reports that Microsoft is giving about 9,100, or about 4 percent, of its workforce pink slips. According to the report, the Xbox division, aka Microsoft Gaming, will be hit the hardest as a result of these layoffs, but the exact number remains unknown. In a message to the team, Xbox head Phil Spencer said to…
Microsoft Lays Off "Hundreds" Of Gaming Division Employees, Cancels Multiple Projects Including 'Perfect Dark' And 'Everwild'
Joanna Dark (unvoiced) expresses her emotions in Perfect Dark (cancelled), Xbox Game Studios Microsoft announce a massive wave of layoffs, including their Xbox and gaming division. This has led to multiple games being cancelled, legacy developers walking away, and rumors once again of how long Phil Spencer will remain at the company. Lord Griswick (TBA) kicks a street-sweeping robot in Clockwork Revolution (TBA), Xbox Game Studios RELATED: Tacti…
The Elder Scrolls Online Dev's Unannounced MMO Was Doing Well and Even Scaling Up as Xbox Cancelation Blindsided Staff, Sources Say
Yesterday, amid the layoffs of around 9100 individuals at Microsoft including thousands from its Xbox Gaming Divisions, we learned that one of the impacted projects was an unannounced MMO from ZeniMax Online Studios.
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