US EditionMicrosoft Layoffs Result in at Least 3 Games Being Cancelled
- Microsoft announced mass layoffs cutting about 9,000 jobs worldwide and cancelling several games including Perfect Dark and Everwild in mid-2025.
- The layoffs and cancellations follow previous cuts in 2024 and reflect the need to run a sustainable business amid a changing industry landscape.
- Xbox Game Studios closed The Initiative, ended Perfect Dark and Everwild development, and wound down other unannounced projects to refocus resources and priorities.
- Xbox head Matt Booty said these tough choices aim to increase team agility and effectiveness and support long-term success despite losing years of effort.
- Microsoft will continue developing over 40 active projects and titles shown at the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase, aiming for strategic growth and stronger franchises.
52 Articles
52 Articles
Microsoft is closing the studio developing the Perfect Dark reboot and cancelling the game
The Initiative, the Xbox studio developing a modern reimagining of Perfect Dark, is being shut down, and development of the game is ending. As first reported by Windows Central, the studio's closure is part of major cuts Microsoft is making across its business, affecting around four percent of the company's global workforce. Based on a memo from Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty obtained by Windows Central, which Microsoft has confirmed is genui…
Microsoft cancels Perfect Dark reboot, shuts down studio
Xbox Game Studios’ new Perfect Dark game — the project that was first revealed in 2020 as the debut title from internal studio The Initiative — has been canceled. Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, confirmed the game’s cancellation and the closure of The Initiative in a note to employees, according to a report from Windows Central. That note also confirms the cancellation of Rare’s Everwild. Both games have been canceled in tandem with mass …
Microsoft cancels its Perfect Dark and Everwild Xbox games
Microsoft is canceling its Perfect Dark and Everwild games as part of sweeping cuts to its Xbox division. Matt Booty, Xbox president of game content and studios, revealed that Microsoft will be closing The Initiative, the studio behind Perfect Dark, in an internal memo to Xbox employees today. The cuts are part of layoffs affecting around 9,000 employees across Microsoft, with Turn 10 Studios, the developer behind Forza Motorsport, also hit hard…
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