Microsoft announced Monday that it is laying off 20% of its Xbox workforce and is cutting ties with several game studios. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
July 6 (UPI) -- Microsoft announced Monday that it is laying off 20% of its Xbox workforce and is cutting ties with several game studios.
The company is laying off 1,600 employees and plans to terminate 1,250 more over the course of the year. It is part of Microsoft's broader plan to cut 4,800 jobs or about 2% of its workforce.
The video game industry was a strong point for Microsoft during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, executives say they misjudged the changes facing the video game business as Xbox contended with Sony's PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch for game console dominance.
As the current generation of video game consoles began, Xbox added several AAA and indie game studios to its portfolio. As part of downsizing its workforce, at least four studios cut ties with Microsoft.
