A report from Jason Schreier has revealed that XBOX has cut contracts and vendors as it prepares for “massive layoffs.” One such company is PR agency Assembly, which has started to lay off several employees.
Schreier’s report stated the following: “The massive Xbox layoffs won’t happen until after the fiscal year ends, but the company is already ending contracts and cutting vendors. So Assembly, Xbox’s main PR agency, is laying people off today.” This report, alongside others that claim that XBOX is planning to shut down State of Decay developers Undead Labs and limit 3rd party agreements for Xbox Game Pass, places doubt on new CEO Asha Sharma’s intentions for the company’s future.
Recently, Bloomberg stated that several Xbox Game Studios companies such as Compulsion Games and Double Fine are all in active negotiation with XBOX to spin off into their own separate studios to avoid closure. This move would be similar to what Toys for Bob did just a few years prior. However, Ninja Theory, who just recently announced a new game in the form of Senua, was reportedly informed that it would be closing down. Currently, it is hoping that a buyer will save it from closure. It is unknown what this means for Senua. Arkane Studios may also suffer the same fate.
Further, XBOX announced that the price of Xbox Series X|S consoles will increase by $100 for 512 GB models and $150 for 1 TB models on August 1. According to XBOX, the price increase for Xbox Series X|S is attributed to console storage and memory prices being increased by 2.5, with another doubling projected for fall of 2027. To offset the change in price, XBOX has implemented new buy now, pay later programs.
