Xbox Game Studios Chief Reportedly Steps Down As Layoffs Loom

Key Points:

• Craig Duncan, head of Xbox Game Studios since October 2024, is stepping down, marking the third leadership change in two years amid reports of another major round of layoffs.
• Duncan's teams, including major studios like Halo, Playground Games, and Obsidian, will temporarily report to Matt Booty, Xbox's chief content officer, until a new leader is appointed.
• Louise O'Connor, Xbox Game Studios chief of staff, is also leaving the company shortly after a public memo from Booty and CEO Asha Sharma highlighted a business "reset" due to declining revenue and increased competition.
• The memo cited rising hardware costs and an overextended portfolio of studios, which have not been adequately funded to compete effectively, as key challenges facing Xbox.
• Bloomberg reports that Xbox is preparing for another round of layoffs expected after June 30, following significant job cuts earlier in 2024 and mid-2025 that included studio closures and game cancellations.