Microsoft XBox Staff Know They're in Trouble, They Try to Unionise Ahead of Mass Layoffs
Today I spoke to someone who said Microsoft is in very deep trouble. It seems like the common sentiment outside and inside the company. Microsoft is already gearing up to remove some of its most experienced staff - push, then shove.
XBox in particular is doomed (it's not selling and top officials are leaving). Microsoft tries using slop - for "entertainment purposes" only - to distract from what's going on there, but hours ago [1,2] the media reported that staff braces for impact by unionising.
As the slang goes, it's going to be a "bloodbath". Many people will have their last day on the first of July (confirmed by internal memos/communications which leaks to the media) and there are rumours about further layoffs in June, aside from "hiring freeze". █
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Double Fine is unionising at Xbox Game Studios
Psychonauts developer Double Fine is set to unionise, after a petition was filed with the National Labor Relations Board on 7th May.
As with other efforts to unionise within Microsoft’s sprawling gaming businesses, Double Fine’s workers have allied with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, with a total of 42 employees drawn from both full-time employees and regular part time.
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Psychonauts Developer Double Fine Is Forming a Union
Psychonauts and Kiln developer Double Fine Productions has laid the groundwork to become the latest Microsoft studio to form a union.
As first reported by Aftermath, the San Francisco-based game studio filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board May 7, 2026. The organization effort with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) follows the 450 Blizzard Entertainment staff who voted to unionize in August 2025, and the union formed by 165 developers at id Software the following December, as well as others. As outlined in the petition, the Double Fine union will include 42 "regular part-time and full-time employees."
