00:00Xbox is reportedly set to close multiple game developer studios, including Ninja Theory, Compulsion and Double Fine.
00:06These studios are reportedly working to negotiate an exit that would let them continue operations independently,
00:12rather than close their doors outright.
00:14Ninja Theory only just revealed a new game, Senua, during Xbox's summer game first showing.
00:19Since Psychonauts 2, Double Fine has struggled to get anything, now including Kiln and Keeper, to stick.
00:24Compulsion, meanwhile, has indicated it was working on a new project,
00:27but has only released south of Midnight since being acquired by Microsoft in 2018.
00:32We've already seen employees from developers like Compulsion post online about looking for new jobs.
00:37Even if the affected Xbox studios are able to buy their independence,
00:40it's expected that they'd still have to lay off staff in order to reach a sustainable headcount at a fraught
00:45time for the games industry.
00:46This reorganization has been overseen by newly appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma,
00:51who said last week that the business cannot continue as is.
00:54She and new Xbox CCO Matt Booty released a joint statement pitching an Xbox reset,
00:59which, to the surprise of no one, will seemingly include heavy layoffs.
01:02June has been a storm of bad news for people at Xbox,
01:05and indeed for anyone hoping to see the games industry stop bleeding.
01:08Just yesterday, June 15th, Xbox lost its game studio's head, Craig Duncan,
01:13who'd been in the role for less than two years.
01:15Heavy layoffs, evidently including these studio cuts, are expected to officially land in July.
01:19Goodbye.
