XBOX is set to axe around 3,200 jobs throughout FY 2027. To oppose this and various other layoffs, over 3,000 fans took to Microsoft's feedback forum to raise their voices.

On the forum, a post titled "End studio closures and stop the cycle of layoffs" has emerged, and it's gathered over 3,400 votes. This may be the perfect place for fans to voice their opinions.

The creator of the post, Witt Yao, took to the forum on July 7, 2026, to address the XBOX situation.

"The layoff of 3,200 workers at XBOX (across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, Obsidian, id Software, and XBOX Game Studios) is unacceptable." Yao wrote in a lengthy post. "This continues a pattern that has led to 10,000+ layoffs at XBOX in as little as two years."

In January 2024, 1,900 employees were laid off across Microsoft's gaming division. Come May 2024, studios such as Arkane Austin and Alpha Dog were shuttered.

A small number of developers were let go in 2025, and in July 2026, 1,600 staffers have already been removed. The remaining promised 1,600 job cuts will occur over the span of this year.

This marks Xbox's third major restructuring in roughly two years, with studios such as Arkane, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs facing drastic consequences amid continued financial pressure on the gaming business.

Yao put forth a few requests from the perspective of the fans.

"Showcasing games from studios they intend to sell or close weeks later feels bad for players," Yao's post read. It also demanded that XBOX stop layoffs for the next 2 years and "end studio closures."

XBOX is yet to officially issue a response to the fan request.

XBOX layoffs: How CEO Asha Sharma explained the situation

On July 6, 2026, Asha Sharma announced the layoffs. According to her, this was part of the most significant restructure in "XBOX history."

Via her post, which was an email sent to all employees, she admitted that their business is not healthy.

XBOX's margins are three to ten times smaller than those of their competitors. Furthermore, their 9th-generation consoles, XBOX Series X|S, have a smaller install base and a higher cost structure.

The company hoped that Game Pass, exclusive games, and their multi-platform strategy would help. However, this did not move the needle enough to make a difference.

As a result, the company added more teams and invested more to improve, and when all failed, the restructuring became imminent.

Now, Undead Labs and Ninja Theory are set to potentially enter new ownership, while Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions have returned to being indie studios.

Meanwhile, Arkane's fate remains unknown.

How do you feel about the most recent XBOX layoffs? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Prit Chauhan

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav