Earlier today, the Xbox executive leadership team of Matt Booty and Asha Sharma continued their Disney villain-esque reign of terror by announcing yet another round of layoffs, possible studio closures, and consolidation. Halo Studios is essentially gone but for a small support team, while control of Xbox’s flagship series will fall to Activision, which is a great idea if you think all shooters are the same and can’t tell the difference between Call of Duty and Halo. Obsidian has been shoved under the Bethesda umbrella — hey, an RPG is an RPG, am I right? While Compulsion, Double Fine, and Undead Labs managed to regain their independence (though not without layoffs of their own), Ninja Theory and Arkane appear to be next on the chopping block.
That’s a lot for a Tuesday morning, but on the bright side, only 268 people were laid off today — a trifle compared to the 1,600 that lost their jobs in July. And according to Booty, Xbox is now three-quarters of the way through its “reset,” which is a really weird way to say “corporate fuckery.” Those living in constant fear of losing their income at a time when there are seemingly zero jobs available can rejoice in having made it to the final round of the Hunger Games.
Like Sharma did in previous Xbox Wire posts, Booty framed this announcement as a series of savvy business decisions righting the wrongs of those who came before as though he hasn’t been in various management roles at Xbox for the last 16 years. Does he think we don’t realize that he’s the same guy who called wildly unhealthy crunch practices a “badge of honor”? You know, the guy who championed the 2019 studio acquisitions now being blamed for Xbox’s downfall? Because if so, my dude, you need a better disguise.
If, like me, you’ve been blindsided by layoffs in your career, you’re probably all too familiar with the refrain of “It’s just business.” Many of us have watched in horror as leadership teams made selfish, short-sighted, or just delusional choices and made those who actually create something of value suffer the consequences. You might not be able to feed your family this month, but it’s nothing personal! Just tell your landlord that not paying your rent for the foreseeable future is a business decision.
That’s obviously a ridiculous notion, but it’s infuriating how executives get to use “it’s just business” as a get-out-of-jail-free card excusing them from the responsibility of the ghastly human toll their never-ending quest for impossible growth has wrought. It’s not.
Xbox isn’t gutting its studios to keep its doors open; Microsoft’s gaming revenue actually increased a couple billion dollars in FY2025 “driven by growth in Xbox content and services.” (Of course, that was offset by “a decline in Xbox hardware” half a decade into the console’s lifespan — no way anyone could have seen that coming.) Let’s not forget that Xbox was suddenly flush with cash when the opportunity arose to scoop up Hideo Kojima’s next project after Sony canceled it. They have what they need to stay in business and turn a profit. It’s just never enough.
And make no mistake, sending thousands of workers into the worst job market of our lifetimes is indeed personal. People in the video game industry move states, countries, and continents just to be a part of something that matters to them. Video game developers and their supporting teams make life-changing creative experiences out of some vibes and a computer. Meanwhile, execs like Sharma and Booty reduce them to numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s not business. It’s unfettered cruelty.
We know there are other options. For example, companies like Xbox could try making realistic goals instead of whatever this Dr. Evil bullshit is. When Nintendo’s Wii U flopped, executives took pay cuts that totaled 20% to 50% of their salaries. How much are you taking home this year, Asha Sharma? And how many employees’ livelihoods could be saved if you weren’t making an insanely inflated salary to be a pain sponge? I have no idea how one goes from a vague “marketing” role to startup founder to CEO of one of the biggest brands in the world in 15 years, but I’m fairly certain that someone who (according to her Linkedin) entered the workforce near the tail end of the Xbox 360’s generational run has no business being there. That money could be better spent elsewhere.
With thousands of people out of work and not nearly enough jobs available in gaming, we’re going to lose invaluable creative talent and generational knowledge. I’ve seen some friends and colleagues decry this ongoing trend as “the end of video games.” Call me a hopeless optimist (as no one ever has in my entire life), but I don’t think gaming ends with the callous actions of the clueless ruling class. People create because they have to, because there’s something inside of them bursting to get out. Like me writing this article on my personal blog for no other reason than I’m mad as hell and I need to shout into the void.
That said, the future of video games might look very different. We’ll see less innovation in the AAA or (ugh) quad-A space as risk-averse publishers push out sequels and by-the-numbers iterations of whatever genre is currently the most popular. The best games on the market won’t have photorealistic graphics or ray tracing or 120 frames per second because they’ll be made by small, deeply creative teams with limited resources and purposeful constraints. But they’ll still get made, and that’s what’s important. And if this new world order means there’s less need for executives like Asha Sharma and Matt Booty, oh well. It’s just business.
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