Xbox axes 3,200 jobs; King and Mojang to report directly to boss Asha Sharma

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has hit reset.

In a sweeping round of layoffs announced today, Sharma said that Xbox is cutting 3,200 staff across the business, with 1,600 of them losing their jobs today.

Four console game studios are in the process of being spun out: Compulsion, Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs. Arkane Lyon is also in consultation.

Minecraft maker Mojang and Candy Crush studio King, however, appear to be at lower risk, and will now report directly to Sharma. “These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players,” Sharma said in a blog announcing the news. “They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to Xbox.”

As well as the studio spin-outs, Sharma said she wants the Xbox platform business to have no more than five layers of management, and ideally three, where possible.

Xbox has also appointed a new COO to have “end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services” at Xbox. Helen Chiang is stepping into this role and will report directly to Sharma. Chiang has worked at Xbox for over 20 years, and has previously held senior roles at Xbox Live and Mojang. Xbox corporate VP Dave McCarthy is also retiring after 17 years with the company.

The 3,200 cuts will take place throughout the coming financial year, said Sharma.

“These changes are about a bigger future for Xbox, not a smaller one,” she added. “The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in Xbox as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making Xbox where the world plays and creates.”

“I want Xbox to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect. I know we can achieve this goal. Xbox has many of the most beloved franchises in entertainment history, talented studios around the world, and we will return to growth in 2027.”