World's Edge Loses Nearly Half Its Staff in Xbox Cuts and Activision Move
World's Edge, the studio behind the Age of Empires franchise, has been hit hard by Microsoft's latest round of Xbox layoffs, with reports indicating that just under half of the studio's employees were let go. The cuts came alongside a significant organisational restructuring that moved World's Edge out of Xbox Game Studios and placed it under the control of Activision, marking a dramatic shift in the studio's corporate home.
The fallout appears to go beyond headcount alone. Reports from Rock Paper Shotgun indicate that an unannounced new game project in development at the studio was also cancelled as part of the shake-up. The scale of the losses, both in personnel and in-progress work, makes this one of the more severe impacts seen from Microsoft's ongoing consolidation efforts across its gaming divisions.
Key Insights
- 1Just under half of World's Edge employees were laid off as part of Microsoft's Xbox consolidation programme.
- 2The studio has been moved from Xbox Game Studios into Activision's organisational structure.
- 3An unannounced new game project at World's Edge was reportedly cancelled alongside the layoffs.
- 4The cuts are part of a broader wave of Xbox restructuring affecting multiple studios.
- 5The future of the Age of Empires franchise under Activision oversight remains uncertain.
Sources
Age of Empires developer World's Edge hit with layoffs following move to Activision
GamesIndustry · 1d ago
Age of Empires studio World's Edge reportedly lost "nearly half" of its staff during yesterday's Xbox cuts and move to Activision
Eurogamer · 1d ago
Age of Empires studio World's Edge reportedly lose nearly half their staff and a new game project in mass Xbox layoffs
Rock Paper Shotgun · 1d ago
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