Microsoft Studios team hit with layoffs in restructuring

Neowin :

"While Microsoft may have named a new leader of its Xbox gaming division this week, other members of that team got word on Wednesday they won't be working at the company anymore. At least two now ex-employees have posted word online they were laid off from Microsoft Studios in Redmond."

[Mikelarry]

Yup now i am 100% sure something is definitely up in the industry... tin foil hat activated

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_P...

also peter loughman good that you are free but why would you put that on social media for every potential employeer to see as that comment could be seen as an employee who is not loyal tut tut tut not a smart move IMO

[bicfitness]

This is common with new leadership, financial quarter deadlines (Sony), or the shift into a new generation. Teams and projects are downsized all the time. That's not to dismiss all of the unease, certainly there are the juggernauts of Mobile and now Amazon shaking things up.

I think its all rather exciting. The AAA industry is such a bloated and unsustainable model that its a miracle its held up this long. These studios need to buckle and collapse if they can't produce a decent game on a reasonable budget. That's why the AA market has shrunk so much. Its nice to see that flag being picked up by larger, indie studios though. At least they aren't constricted by a publisher's demands and are required to have some financial sense to even bring a game to market.

So its not all doom and gloom.

[NewMonday]

this is a new generation, that is forcing the need for changes because:

* new kind of hardware and new game engines need different skill-sets.

* late last generation projects are getting canceled and investment moved to new gen games.

- rise in game budgets because of the new generation is increasing risks, making profits harder to attain

[Boody-Bandit]

So will we be seeing another "sky is falling" article from IGN or will they pull a Sessler?

On topic:
The more expansive the media gets the bigger these restructuring plans are made into. It's a new generation and to keep things moving forward changes need to be made. Just look at the changes at MS since the announcement of the XBOX ONE.

I never made any of that into a big deal with them and I'm not with Sony as well. We are all gamers. You would think we would all want them to have enough of a level of success to keep this industry alive at all cost.

Do what ever you guys have to as long as you are making games until I shuffle this mortal coil.

[Gazondaily]

Hold up a sec. This isn't like what's happening at Sony though. These are just two guys at Microsoft studios who have been laid off unlike the others being key personnel who have departed or been let go of mid-project.

Can you really say that these just two ex-employees who arent exactly key figures in some big project that we know of being let go. Im not sure who they are but aside from the tech directors, I dunno if this is a big deal. So dont be too quick to jump the gun and equate this to what's happening at Sony. It could be the same kind of restructuring or different.

Saying that, the Sony restructuring, like I've said before isnt grounds for crying soom and gloom just yet either.

[christocolus]

@ septic

I agree with you..if its just these two guys for now then its really not a big deal,none of the top guys we know have been affected and its common knowledge that MS has been hiring like crazy for the past few months even taking in ex ssm and irrational devs.

Until we know the actual number of those laid off this shouldn't be anything to worry about.

[truefan1]

1 guy probably being fired for mailing it in and 1 layoff is not equal to 50+ layoffs, cancelled games, key devs leaving top internal studios, and cancelled games.

PS I don't think to many people were talking about Sony doom, it was more so the dismissive attitude of some fans made people point out the restructuring issues Sony is facing.

[nicksetzer1]

A few minor layoffs (not to diminish the people filling those roles value) amidst massive expansion across it's first party studios is the same as sony losing 8 lead devs, 50+ from SSM (including a major game cancellation) 100+ from SOE, losses at superbot, and large layoff @ guerilla cambridge, sony london (another cancelled project) and evo?

Why are we even comparing the 2 issues tbh?

[Paulie_gualtieri]

They closed ensemble studios awhile back.Peter left lionhead.Corrine Yu left 343, Trouble in Blacktusk studio long dev time with rumors of big trouble, their new IP gets canned.Don mattrick steps down, Marc whitten steps down, Xbox being outsold worldwide by a massive margin.

Yep! Things are all peaches and creme for MS, right boys?

[hulk_bash1987]

What is going on at Microsoft Game Studios? I'm getting worried. See, it's that easy to blow something out of proportion. Sad to hear they lost their jobs and wish them the best of luck.

[Mikelarry]

@hulk_bash1987

if you pay close attention to my comment it was not directly at MS i was talking about the industry as a whole. something is up which might be for the better or worse ( i dont know) but as pointed out by bicficness post which i agree with. my comment was not to blow anything up but you will be naive not to think a very important change is happening in the industry and major players and adapting to the change as best as they can. not every comment has to be seen as an attack on a console maker.

[hulk_bash1987]

@Mikelarry

My comment was not directed at you or your comment. It was just a general comment on all the doom and gloom surrounding the recent losses on Sony's side and how easy it is to over analyze something.

[christocolus]

@mike larry

Lol..the guy says he is free so it seems MS did him a favour,if he wanted to leave he should have resigned a long time ago, he just clarified the meaning of that comment on twitter though and the other guy clearly seems to have his post ms plans set with a kickstarter project already in place.

I wish them the best but I hope MS keeps building new and bigger 1st party studios ,they need to get the right people into them too cos this gen its all going to be about exclusives.. MS needs to gather all the great talents it can get. With Phil in charge now I guess this will become a reality soon.

Best of luck to all those affected.

[TheBrit]

By getting laid off he probably got a severance package - by quitting he probably wouldn't have gotten squat.

[Eonjay]

Welcome to the world of business.

[curtis92]

This kind of overreaction is why sites are covering this stuff.

[3-4-5]

Theory:

The big 2 put more money into certain things than they can really afford. They were waiting to see which stuff worked and sold well and didn't within the industry and are now restructuring based on what happen in the last year in the gaming industry.

They are trying to plan for the next 4-5 years.

Meanwhile, Nintendo recently hired new people and is building a new HQ or Dev studio ( forget what it is).

It's not all doom and gloom, but I have a feeling a few people put one too many eggs into the basket.

[DEEBO]

Lol the one guy tweeting I'm free, I'm frrrreeeeee! Is so funny.

[bleedsoe9mm]

pretty much explains why he was first to go

[Kayant]

Interesting comment from Patrick Loughman -

"I got laid off from Microsoft Studios today... I... I'm free? I'M FREEEEEEE!"

https://twitter.com/el_Patr...

Thoughts to those affected hopefully they get back on their feet soon.

Edit ---> https://twitter.com/el_Patr...

"Microsoft was a great place to work for me. I'm just excited to have some agency in my own creative endeavors." - Ahh he just wanted more freedom in making decisions.

[OlgerO]

Druckman strikes again ?

[shivvy24]

Hahaha , best use of the joke

[torchic]

lay-offs at Microsoft Studios? must be Sony's fault.

[Edvin1984]

Well both seemed like they had other plans of then working at MS Studios. One fella seems to be uber excited to be FREE FREEEE....and the other guy has a passion project he is working on.

I work in a software development, and while its not game related it stills requires everyone to be focused on one thing and only one the product in production. Personal distractions are very difficult to deal with, and I always have my door open to my staff to come and talk to me first before they feel miserable.

I wish all of them best of luck, and I think this is the best for both parties.

[Agent_hitman]

I think this lay off issues has something to do with the Easy-to-develop nature of the new consoles. I think I read somewhere, 5 months ago that the newer systems like PS4/X1 are more easy to program than it's predecessors and the optimization only takes 2 months just like the PS1, so therefore same goes for X1.. Correct me if I'm wrong.

IF this is true then, these companies won't be needing a lot of man power to create AAA titles for next gen.. So that's why they are now undergoing a massive restructuring. Actually most of the videogame companies are now doing this.

[rainslacker]

I'm sure that's part of it. Some of the people leaving at various studios and such are required for a game project however. Less need for optimization means that the project is quicker, but generally you would still need the same number of people to create the game in the first place.

I think the apprehension people have, or the quick-draw on some dramatic trouble stirring, is due to it all happening within a rather short time, and every change being reported regardless of who they are.

If this continues going on for the next couple years, then it may be something to worry about.

[WeAreLegion]

Never good to lose a job. Hoping they find employment soon.

[candy_mafia]

Yup I agree WeArelegion... I hope those laid off find a gig real soon ;/

What makes me laugh is how cool Xbox One owners are about this, yet all conspiracy was pointed at Sony. The hypercritical level is off the charts!

Just goes to show, Fanboys should never receive attention.

[Budobear]

Where are all the claims that Msoft is finished?
There have been loads of those in all the 'Sony has layed off' threads.

[Mikefizzled]

Msoft is finished.
Happy now? Not that I believe it for a second.

[Budobear]

Thanks Mike I'm quite contented now!
I don't believe it either but I seen how people like to over react to this type of news.

[Mikelarry]

Could be that " those commenters" have matured and seen the bigger picture that anything that affects any of the console makers has a ripple effect on the industry as a whole.

but just for funzies atleast this guy made the right choice /s

http://static6.businessinsi...

[lifeisgamesok]

Well I think two employees that didn't do much on the gaming side of things is a big difference from directors and major developers of projects leaving and more than 50 layoffs

[DCfan]

Is the industry collapsing??

[Hellsvacancy]

http://upload.wikimedia.org...

[ArbitorChief]

I don't think Microsoft are running out of money people, this is Microsoft we're talking about. A new head of Xbox just came in and it's pretty common for restructuring to happen. I'm not too worried.

[Kayant]

But in Sony's case it is doom and "cost savings" because of their projected $1 billion loss.

Even though if you look at things closely the major layoffs came from SSM 50+ people getting laid off and a project getting cancelled (Rumored for reveal at E3) with the project lead also being let go or leaving on his own merit. Am guessing the above to you doesn't suggest troubled development of some kind but is obviously cost savings.

Col Rodgers (Driveclub game director), Jaime Griesemer (Lead designer), Justin Richmond (Game Director) all left on their own merit due to different reasons. Also Amy Hennig (creative director) leave is still vague in whether it was her being laid off or leaving on her own merits.

Which leaves the recent layoff at Sony UK studios (Evolution Studios, Guerrilla Cambridge and SCE London Studio) - As the only thing which you can really call "restructuring" when you look at things.

Also not to add they are actually still hiring at some of these studios affected by the layoffs.
https://playstation.taleo.n...
http://www.playstationjobs....

Edit -

"Seems like I hit a nerve... Tell me, where exactly did I mention Sony in my comment? " - You don't but I remember some of the posts you made a while back when it was Sony's turn and dat post history.

"It can't be a coincidence that just a few weeks before the massive layoffs at Playstation" - Case in point *Massive*. Right because you know the amount affected at the UK studios and like I said SSM suggests something related to development considering they just *Moved* to a bigger studios (Oh look investment) so why would they now be downsizing by such a large amount of people if usually when you move to somewhere bigger you do it in order to expand.

"Seems like I hit a nerve" - Yep you sure did.....

[ArbitorChief]

Seems like I hit a nerve... Tell me, where exactly did I mention Sony in my comment?

On your point though, I'm sure quite a few Sony employees left on their own merit but I'd say majority of it would of been due to Sony's forecast lost of $1.1 billion. It can't be a coincidence that just a few weeks before the massive layoffs at Playstation that thousands of employees at the TV, PC divisions and Sony stores were fired. If you want to believe they all left on their on merit, that's your own opinion but with Sony's current financial situation and recent layoffs not just this year but last year as well when they fired over 10,000 people, it's pretty clear what's going on at Sony and why so many people have left the Playstation division recently, not to mention they sold their own building as well.

In Microsoft's case, I'd imagine it's due to Phil Spencer becoming the new head of Xbox and usually when there's a management change, restructuring tends to happen. Also, employees from Irrational and SSM have been hired at MS Game Studios recently, so really, these layoffs aren't really having a major impact compared to say creative/game directors leaving/laid off at Naughty Dog and Evolution Studios.

[givemeshelter]

Sony is not in Doom and Gloom. However Sony has been in financial restructure for the ENTIRE company off and on since the mid to late 1990's.
In the end... Sony will do just fine

[UltraNova]

Agreed. In fact we should not be surprised to hear about even more lay-offs and large scale restructuring within the XBOX division.

Good thing Amazon is on the same train (consoles and gaming in general)now so they could be absorbed by them and bring the heat to MS and Sony. It will only benefit us the gamers.

[stuna1]

So much for it being a Sony thing!!!! Anyone who has a clue about the industy and business in general, should understand what restructuring means, it's called "Trimming the fat"! And yes it can involve areas that some could consider profitable, successful and non relative to what's actually the bottom line! One thing everyone has to understand is what we consider to be beneficial to a company/studio, may not even be what the company considers profitable or beneficial at all. And they would know better than we would, because it's their business to know after all.

[InTheLab]

I'm sure someone will figure out how to roll this, the Sony layoffs, and the WiiU issues into some crap about consoles being doomed and that games like flappy bird are the future.

Hopefully this is more of a restructure thing than people just fed up and walking...and man could MS studios use some restructuring. Hopefully this will be a shift from Kinect first to core first, second, and third.

[WeAreLegion]

Goat Simulator is the future!

[kewlkat007]

If no unannounced AAA game is have been canceled then I shouldn't worry ... Bodily they find new jobs

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Layoffs are hard so I hope all affected at any company find work soon.

for those wondering why more are not comparing this in a similar way to how things were looked at with Sony it's because this is only one news story about layoffs whereas with Sony there were numerous layoff stories as well as several high level people choosing to leave which just felt odd given the high level of success sony had been riding on with the ps4 launch.

[Dewitt]

Two random people leave and deserves an article. Key players at Sony leaving is much bigger news than this stealth troll article.

[curtis92]

Good Lord guys... people have been coming and going from jobs forever. It's only now that sites are giving us their version of 24/7 CNN coverage on it because it's the hot thing to do. I heard a member of the cleanup crew at valve HQ left last week. Sinking ship? /s

[Predaking]

This is completely normal in any industry. Companies must restructure and go forward. Just like the Eagle when they drip their feathers and grow new stronger feathers.

What I don't understand is why in the case of Sony, people cannot see it like a normal thing and just spread non sense as doom, bankruptcy and all people are leaving Sony stuff.

I'm glad this is happening to Microsoft so people understand that they are having the same process as Sony and this is just normal and positive for both sides.

[gedden7]

If you're a Xbox one owner like me...???

We are on the titanic SLOWLY reaching the iceberg... Can anyone else see it? Sony you are right with us...

[bleedsoe9mm]

just phil cleaning up don's mess

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Birthing Pains, of Next Gen.

-It's different than last gen.. & those that can't see the Vision.. are usually let go..

- Both Camps _

[MeLoveRamen]

I told you guys something is wrong with Microsoft, it isn't common that people get laid off in this industry. This spells doom and gloom for xbone:/

You had to see that comment comings

[JustPlay4]

People come and go it happens

Sony also has lot more studios that money so they more layoffs and just left on the own. So let's not get out of hand both are fine let's move on now