Words fail me.
This week has been awful for Xbox players, with the latest round of Microsoft layoffs heavily impacting the gaming division, gutting studios and canceling games left and right. The human cost is vile, with incredibly-talented developers losing their jobs, reportedly at least in part because of Microsoft's investment in AI.
With the dust (somewhat) settling, I want to examine the cuts that have happened and what it could mean for the Xbox games lineup in the future.
I'd originally planned to have a fun "here's the Windows Central team's favorite games of 2025 so far" slated for this weekend, so you can thank Microsoft for canceling that, too.
We still don't have a full accounting of everything that's happened, but I've gathered everything we know for sure that has been cut:
- The Initiative is shuttered, Perfect Dark is canceled (around 50 jobs)
- 50% of Turn 10 Studios (at least 70 jobs)
- 50% of Xbox User Research team
- 10% of Candy Crush developer King (around 200 jobs)
- A small number at Halo Studios (less than 10 jobs)
- An unknown number at Rare, Everwild canceled
- An unknown number at Activision studios, including Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software
- An unknown number at Bethesda Softworks, Romero Games' project canceled with the studio facing closure (around 100 jobs, but not under Microsoft)
- An unknown number at Blizzard Entertainment, Warcraft Rumble updates ceasing
- An unknown number at Undead Labs
- An unknown number at Xbox Communications
- An unknown number at Xbox Game Studios Global Publishing
- An unknown number at ZeniMax Online Studios, Project Blackbird canceled
- An unknown number at ZeniMax Media Quality Assurance
It's a bloodbath, and that doesn't feel even remotely strong enough to describe what happened. Xbox still has "more than 40 projects" in development, per president of game content and studios Matt Booty. There's a deluge of games coming later this year, and that will continue into 2026 and the first half of 2027.
The second half of 2025 will see the launch of titles like Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded 2 and The Outer Worlds 2 in July and October, respectively. That's alongside other games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 and Gears of War: Reloaded, which are launching in July and August, respectively.
The Xbox Game Studios Publishing team is working with PlatinumGames and TeamNinja to put out Ninja Gaiden 4 in October. Double Fine's Keeper is slated to launch in October. Of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will cap out the year, likely in November.
In 2026, The Coalition will launch Gears of War: E-Day. Playground Games is set to perform an impressive double-feature with Fable and the unannounced Forza Horizon 6.
Halo Studios is heavily rumored to have something, possibly even a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. I also won't be shocked in the least if inXile Entertainment's Clockwork Revolution is ready sometime in 2026.
"I'm excited to share that players will get to celebrate 25 years of Xbox with a new Fable, the Next Forza, Gears of War: E-Day, and the return of a classic that's been with us since the beginning," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer proclaimed during the recent Xbox Games Showcase.
Moving into 2027, it's easy to see games like Marvel's Blade from Arkane Lyon, OD from Kojima Productions, and State of Decay 3 from Undead Labs finally arriving. But what about beyond that?
Every game I can think of that would've potentially filled the late 2027/early 2028 slate is now gone. The Initiative's Perfect Dark, Rare's Everwild, and Project Blackbird from ZeniMax Online Studios could've filled that gap.
Going back a bit, it's also hard not to imagine that Hi-Fi Rush 2 from Tango Gameworks and a Dishonored game from Arkane Austin might've slipped into this spot.
I'm sure there will still be something, but all these cancellations will have an impact, and there'll be a reckoning due.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
