Microsoft reportedly met with Romero Games just a day before pulling funding — and said absolutely nothing about what was coming

The fallout from last week's Microsoft cuts, layoffs and cancellations continues, and this latest report paints a pretty bleak picture of how things have been handled.

It was reported that Romero Games was building a new title with funding from Microsoft, which was subsequently cancelled among last week's swath of cuts.

What's also been reported, however, paints Microsoft in an even worse light. Coming from Romero Games' native Ireland thanks to thejournal.ie (via PC Gamer), Microsoft apparently met with the studio just the day prior.

And said absolutely nothing about what was coming.

Specifically, an employee of Romero Games claims the studio "had meetings with the publisher the day before this happened, there was no mention of it."

The same former employee went on to say that the unnamed FPS title was fairly well-developed, and that they're trying to find alternative sources of funding. But for now, the studio is very much "closed."

The human cost of all of this is obviously the most shocking, but this report paints a very damning picture of how Microsoft has been conducting business, with Romero Games at the very least.

Naturally, any publicly traded company will keep such information confidential as long as possible. If nothing else, won't somebody think of the share price. But this feels like the lowest of low blows. To quite literally meet with the studio, business as usual, as if everything is progressing normally, only to have the rug pulled 24 hours later?

Microsoft should be better than that. Any company should be better than that.

Romero Games was, of course, not the only studio affected. Reports suggest Turn 10, makers of Forza Motorsport, was cut by as much as 50% and has been repurposed as a support studio for Playground Games on Forza Horizon.

Rare saw Everwild cancelled, The Initiative was closed, and Perfect Dark cancelled, so too, an in-progress title at ZeniMax Online which, apparently, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, really enjoyed playing.

My colleague, Cole Martin, recently wrote — Xbox says all the games shown in the 2025 Showcase are still coming — but why should we believe them? It's a valid question, and Microsoft has nobody to blame but itself if its gamers are treating the company with added skepticism.

Phil Spencer has already teased a new Forza Horizon game for next year, Gears of War E-Day, and potentially a new Halo title. We're still awaiting Fable, too, and there will be a number of projects we've never heard of.

While you would hope the biggest hitters such as Forza Horizon and Gears of War are actually safe, can we really say for sure the rest are?

Here's hoping Romero Games finds a new source of funding, and we get to experience the fruits of their labor.