Many are still reeling from the Xbox layoffs that happened yesterday, and as we dive deeper into what Microsoft did and didn’t do, it’s becoming clear that these 650 releases were far more than meets the eye. For example, Phil Spencer stated that most of the people released were in “support positions” and that they wouldn’t affect overall game development or cause shutdowns within its gaming studios. While that stands true for the most part, GameFile has gotten an update on the situation, and it paints a different picture. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and another team were heavily scaled down due to these layoffs because of poor performance by the titles.
That might sound odd, as Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile was received mostly well by critics and gamers and has rather high review scores across the board. Yet, according to GameFile, the title “didn’t hit” like Activision Blizzard hoped it would, and as a result, the team behind the mobile FPS is being “scaled down.” While they didn’t say it outright, it’s likely to help “manage costs” that are getting “too big” for Microsoft.
The irony of this is quite substantial. First, the fact that this franchise has a title that is “underperforming” enough to get a scaled-down team shows that the mobile market isn’t always a “guaranteed winner,” even with a big-name franchise. Second, we know that Microsoft is hoping that the upcoming entry in said franchise will save the Xbox Game Pass, though that’s anything but a certainty at this point.
Finally, let’s reflect back on the words of Phil Spencer when the layoffs hit:
“As part of aligning our post-acquisition team structure and managing our business, we have made the decision to eliminate approximately 650 roles across Microsoft Gaming—mostly corporate and supporting functions—to organize our business for long term success.”
Is that what they’re doing, though? One of the heads of the Blizzard workers union doesn’t think so and is calling for more teams to unionize so that they can “stop the bleeding” that is going on in the industry. Plus, Xbox as a whole shooting for “long-term success” is a bit funny to hear about when their short-term success isn’t exactly promising. Not to mention, the merger with Activision Blizzard hasn’t produced continued big results, has gotten 2500 out of a job, and more “cuts” are likely to happen if things don’t change.
This will be a situation to watch intensely going forward.
