Headcount Shows This Year's Microsoft Layoffs Aren't About Blizzard or Activision, They're Mostly About XBox Failing
Moments ago: (yes, Microsoft kills things)
SO A lot of the news in recent hours focuses on the FTC but not on the underlying numbers. Few reports have focused on the numbers, e.g. [1, 2].
This matters.
It matters a lot because it's starting to seem like the majority of the mass layoffs at Microsoft so far this year are Microsoft (XBox), not Blizzard-Activision.
So even if Microsoft didn't bid for Blizzard-Activision, these XBox layoffs would come. Last year mass XBox layoffs were reported already; it now seems like in the month of January alone over 1,000 XBox staff got laid off (not 'relocated') and, counting contractors and perma-temps too, probably a lot more in practice. Remember that Microsoft does not report the latter at all; it's an "HR" loophole/trick.
There are already signs of an "exit" strategy from XBox as a hardware product. Microsoft has lost billions on it.
Remember that Microsoft owes a lot more money than it has. Buying and overpaying for a company contributes to this.
What next for Nadella at 10? A "perfect 10" scam, wherein he "spices up" XBox with something "Hey Hi" (or chatbot) to entice investors into the Ponzi scheme [1, 2]? Is "XBox Copilot Pro Ultimate" on the horizon? Is Xbox envisioned only as a game "store" (DRM) while phasing out the rest and laying off thousands of people? █
"DRM is the future."
--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO