Cathal

Eh...

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

@_GLITCHED_ That would almost put things back at pre-2023 price hikes.

[Wario64 @Wario64]

Silence is free on GOG https://t.co/egrkCDpAVn #ad

Direct link to redeem on GOG (must be logged in) https://t.co/PGBB6OTCi4

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

I like how Sony is passive aggressively throwing out the catchphrase, "Always Ready For The Fight", as a first response to the backlash of the past couple of days.

[PlayStation @PlayStation]

Switch out lever gates with ease on the FlexStrike wireless fight stick: https://t.co/w3qDZd3hyv

[IO Interactive @IOInteractive]

Dear gaming community,

Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP. We will continue to develop and fund it independently amongst our other projects. With this context, we had to find a new balance for the long-term future of the studio, focused on the success of our main internal core titles instead of external projects and potential mobile game derivatives. This has meant making changes as well as proposed changes across our studios: the closure of our Istanbul studio and starting a process to part ways with colleagues who have been a meaningful part of what makes IOI what it is.

Our immediate focus is on supporting those affected as best we can through this period. If you are aware of any opportunities within your network, we would be genuinely grateful for any support you can offer to any of the talented people across IOI who might be looking for new opportunities.

These are hard, but necessary decisions, in order to retain the long-term future of IO Interactive as one of the very few fully independent AAA developer and publisher, as well as to give Project Fantasy the best possible foundation to succeed under our own passion and direction. Project Fantasy is a game, a world, and an IP that we are wholly committed to, and we cannot wait to share the love with you.

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

Must say, the lack of empathy from some 'gamers' regarding layoffs throughout the industry really makes me want to distance myself more and more from the community.

Maybe it's the negative reinforcement of socials, maybe it's just the overall influx of negative news, but damn.

[ASHA @asha_shar]

This is an important email I sent today to all employees at XBOX:

Team,

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I've made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.

I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today's decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.

Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.

First, we will reset our content portfolio.

Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.

Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.

We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.

In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.

Second, we will reset our platform.

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

Third, we are resetting how we operate.

As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.

For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX's history. We wish him all the best.

These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we've seen before. This year, we'll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we'll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect. I know we can achieve this goal. XBOX has many of the most beloved franchises in entertainment history, talented studios around the world, and we will return to growth in 2027.

History is full of companies that mistake longevity for inevitability. We will not be one of them.

Asha

[Shinobi602 @shinobi602]

Xbox is laying off around 1,600 employees today (8%), with additional layoffs continuing through FY27 totaling 15% of Xbox, as it announces "most significant restructure" in its history and parts ways with several studios:

▪️Double Fine and Compulsion Games are going independent
▪️Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have been sold off
▪️Arkane is reviewing "potential strategic options"

➡️ https://t.co/9izHTOS8hr

[Compulsion Games @CompulsionGames]

An important update from Compulsion Games.

[Wario64 @Wario64]

Microsoft is laying off 4800 employees today / 1600 Xbox employees impacted

-Double Fine and Compulsion Games are going independent
-Microsoft selling Ninja Theory and Undead Labs

Full memo from Asha: https://t.co/1YMaLj9vBJ

[God Empress of Mankind @nuhre_]

"I only buy digital so this doesn’t affect—"

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

@Jivesh1995 This after just recently having the shit show of digital movies people purchased getting taken away.

Can probably confirm no disc option in the PS6 or backwards compatibility, since people won't be able to use their previously bought physical games.

Sony giving everyone the 🖕

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

@PlayStation

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

@MarcoCocomello Such bullshit, honestly.

Watch game pricing getting wrecked further since brick and mortar store pricing can be ignored when there's no more physical.

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

Fuck, man...

[PlayStation @PlayStation]

Important updates:

News on physical discs for new games - https://t.co/BzZODXdWGY

News on PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita - https://t.co/ev3mN6wj14

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

@xMBGx IOI really has shitty luck with their partnerships...

[PlayStation @PlayStation]

Available today in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog:

🚜 Farming Simulator 25
🔥 Blades of Fire
⚔️ Black Desert

…and more. Full details: https://t.co/iJxr5RTYwj

[IO Interactive @IOInteractive]

Dear gaming community,

For a good while, it has been all positive news from IO Interactive. We remain humbled and honored by the response to our latest outing with a young, unproven Bond. A bold new story and a take on one of the most famous characters in entertainment, which the world has embraced with love.

However, today we have to share some more downbeat news. A relationship with an external partner on our own IP, Project Fantasy, has come to an end. This means we have to adapt to this new reality and its short-term consequences, including staffing decisions, which is what is happening as we write this update, and we are fully committed to supporting those affected through this challenging transition.

Project Fantasy is a game, a world, and an IP that we absolutely love and remain 100% committed to, now and in the future. This wonderful universe will see the light of day.

[Cathal @W_Cathal]

@_GLITCHED_ So, anyone getting married and joining their partner's account, whilst cancelling their own is screwed because of an already linked email?

This just seems like a stupid way of having people create multiple throwaway email accounts.

[Wario64 @Wario64]

Steam Summer Sale https://t.co/FgF9TRYxrU

runs until July 9th, 10 AM PT