{"id":1853,"date":"2026-06-10T21:42:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1853"},"modified":"2026-06-10T21:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:42:33","slug":"layoffs-coming-at-xbox-new-ceo-outlines-upcoming-reset-in-memo-to-staff-surprising-and-even-frustrating-realities-facing-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1853","title":{"rendered":"Layoffs Coming at Xbox? New CEO Outlines Upcoming \u2018Reset\u2019 in Memo to Staff: \u2018Surprising and Even Frustrating\u2019 Realities Facing Business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tNew Xbox CEO Asha Sharma outlined several \u201csurprising and even frustrating\u201d realities facing the Microsoft-owned gaming business in a memo to staff Wednesday, which included forward looking statements about reshaping the company.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018007 First Light\u2019 Studio Chief on Future Bond Games With Amazon, Adding New Free Missions and Isola\u2019s Backstory<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe note, which was published by Xbox on Xbox Wire, does not address potential layoffs but instead focuses on specific weaknesses within the division, including a 3% accountability margin for the fiscal year.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe memo comes just a few days after Xbox\u2019s splashy Games Showcase presentation, which marked Sharma\u2019s first time leading the event following the exit of predecessor Phil Spencer.<\/p>\n

\nAccording to Bloomberg, \u201csignificant\u201d staff reductions are slated to begin at Xbox in July. Xbox declined Variety<\/em>\u2018s request for comment on that report.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices,\u201d the memo reads. \u201cIn the process, we have found ourselves over extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content. We are the fortunate stewards of industry-defining franchises that have enormous potential and player demand, but we have not adequately funded them to compete and win. At the same time, as we saw this past weekend at Showcase, a reliable pipeline of first- and third-party exclusives and new IP are critical to our success. We need to reassess the balance between these and our investment priorities for the next 5 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nRead the memo, which is attributed to Sharma and Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty, in full below.<\/p>\n

\nTeam,<\/em><\/p>\n

\nOver the first 100 days together, we have started to revive XBOX.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nOur platform teams have already shipped more updates in the last 100 days than during the prior year combined. We now have more active partners on XBOX than ever before. Our Game Pass team set to work fixing our offering and after 8+ months of decline, our service has started to grow again. And through Player Voice, we have a 24\/7 channel to hear directly from players, creators, and developers.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nWith the XBOX Games Showcase and the return of FanFest, we brought together hundreds of millions of fans globally. We reintroduced exclusives with Gears of War: E-Day in 2026 and Clockwork Revolution in 2027. Players can continue to expect signature exclusives from us every year. In parallel, Playground Games reminded us that established franchises can achieve incredible new highs.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nThese results are early, but they demonstrate what is possible when we move faster, stay close to our community, and align behind a shared vision. We have made mistakes, and will continue to make them, but what matters is that we listen, learn, and adjust the course where needed. Remember, our fans are rooting for us.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nNow we start the next 100 days. It is important to have both optimism and realism as we work to reset the business.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more AMC Theatres Postpones Bebe Rexha, Paris Hilton, Kim Petras and Maren Morris Live Concert Simulcasts, Citing Summer Box Office Rebound<\/a><\/p>\n

\nHere are the realities that we need to navigate:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n1: Over 1 billion players choose to play XBOX and our games each year, for a total of 72 billion hours across Console, PC, Mobile, and Streaming (excluding much of China and a few other properties). Our franchises are also among the largest and most beloved globally and are now breaking records in TV and film. Going forward, our competition is attention. There are more great games, TV series, franchises, creators, content formats, apps, etc., than ever before.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n2: We will end this fiscal year at about a 3% accountability margin, down year-over-year. Excluding Activision Blizzard King, over the past five years, we have spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments in our content, platform, and hardware subsidy, but our annual revenue has declined nearly half a billion during that time. Going forward, this cannot continue.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n3: We are in a hardware component crisis. When I joined as CEO in February, the price we paid for console storage components was over 2x as high as we paid last fall. These costs have since doubled again. And as we plan for the 2027 holiday season, we expect another significant increase, taking us over 5x the prices we paid only two years earlier. Memory costs have followed a broadly similar trajectory. While the entire industry is facing a components crisis, we believe we have been impacted more greatly than many of our peers due to the choices we made over the last half decade. We are currently unable to make as many consoles as players want to buy, and we need a new business model and partnerships for hardware as we remain committed to Helix.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n4: We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices. In the process, we have found ourselves over extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content. We are the fortunate stewards of industry-defining franchises that have enormous potential and player demand, but we have not adequately funded them to compete and win. At the same time, as we saw this past weekend at Showcase, a reliable pipeline of first- and third-party exclusives and new IP are critical to our success. We need to reassess the balance between these and our investment priorities for the next 5 years.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n5: Our current platform infrastructure is not built for the battle ahead. Our systems are overly complex, spanning hundreds of dependencies, which hinders our ability to move fast. We\u2019ve become too reliant on vendors to operate our systems and must become more self-reliant as an engineering culture to build for the future. We must increase the value we ship to players while decreasing the time it takes to do so. Going forward, we\u2019ll evolve and rebuild our stack and look at capabilities across all of XBOX and potential M&A to help us win in hardware, PC, mobile, and streaming.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nFor some of you, these realities will be surprising and even frustrating to discover. We won\u2019t succeed by hiding hard truths, nor will we succeed by doing the same thing and expecting different results. Like the \u2018everyday wins\u2019 mentality from the first 100 days, we will sprint to make progress against hardware, content, experience, and services together.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nXBOX is one of the few places where people come not just to play, but to connect with others to create memories. With console at the center of how our showcase experiences are defined, Windows as one of the largest gaming platforms in the world, and incredible games under our roof as one of the largest publishers in the world, we have the foundation in place.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nLet\u2019s reset for a stronger XBOX and build the #1 gaming and entertainment company.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more The Best Audible Books to Listen to Right Now: From \u2018Famesick\u2019 to the \u2018Off Campus\u2019 Series<\/a><\/p>\n

\nAsha and Matt<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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