xbox game studios

Microsoft’s Xbox division is reportedly preparing to close Montreal-based Compulsion Games, the studio behind South of Midnight, after warning employees in June 2026 that the gaming business had become overextended and would refocus resources around fewer priorities. The move is not merely...

Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O’Connor are leaving Microsoft’s gaming division in mid-June 2026, according to multiple reports, just days after new Xbox leaders Asha Sharma and Matt Booty outlined a broad “Xbox reset” aimed at an overextended studio empire. The...

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios has quietly moved from “selective” porting to an explicit strategy of getting more first‑party games onto PlayStation 5 in 2026, a shift that redefines how exclusivity, subscriptions, and platform competition will work for the next console generation. Overview In...

Six years after its cinematic reveal and two years after a gameplay-led reemergence, State of Decay 3 is very much alive in development — even if Microsoft and Undead Labs are still keeping the public at arm’s length. Craig Duncan, head of Xbox Game Studios, told GamesRadar+ that he’s played the...

The image of a senior Xbox producer advising laid-off colleagues to “lean on AI” for emotional support crystallized a moment that many in tech already felt: the tools companies are using to reshape work are now being pitched as a balm for the wounds they helped inflict. Within hours of a...

In July 2025, Microsoft announced a significant workforce reduction, laying off approximately 9,000 employees, which accounts for about 4% of its global staff. This move is part of a broader restructuring strategy aimed at streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency across various...

Microsoft’s growing prominence in generative AI and its implications for the video games industry have fueled both excitement and skepticism among developers and players alike. The company’s deep investments in OpenAI and its recent partnership with Inworld AI—culminating in the Narrative Graph...

Microsoft’s ongoing investment in artificial intelligence has altered many aspects of its business, but within its gaming division, the application of generative AI remains significantly less prescriptive than some industry watchers might assume. Despite the company’s well-publicized...