Tech Brew Ride Home · Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Microsoft has laid off 268 employees across its Xbox division, including those working on Halo, as part of a broader gaming business reset. Activision will now assume responsibility for the Halo franchise, among others.
“Microsoft has laid off 268 Xbox staffers across Halo and other studios as part of their ongoing gaming reset.”
“Microsoft is laying off around 260 Xbox employees today as part of an ongoing reset of its gaming business.”
“We are eliminating 268 roles across other first-party studios and the XGS management and central functions layer, says Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty in a memo.”
“Halo moving to Activision follows a string of tough releases for the franchise under Xbox's stewardship.”