XBox Layoffs Vastly Bigger Than Microsoft Told the Press, Microsoft Keeps Trying to Change the Subject
Recent: "The Xbox Bloodbath Is Actually Way Bigger Than It Seems" (Microsoft's Layoffs Tally Was False, Far More People Are Being Sacked) | Microsoft Has Just Been Sued Over Layoffs
The Microsoft "bloodbath" (as insiders have long called it) is not limited to XBox, but the media has been tricked into "selective attention". XBox seems practically dead now and Kotaku writes about the disgust associated with Microsoft pretending everything is OK:
Back in June, reports emerged that a looming restructuring at Xbox would result in layoffs on an unprecedented scale. In the weeks that followed, report after report dripped out as, internally, individuals caught wind of who might be impacted. Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory were in danger, we learned (they are all being spun off). On June 30 alone, we saw reports of third-party contracts being cut, unions frantically negotiating layoff protections, Xbox pulling out of IO Interactive’s Project Fantasy, triggering layoffs over there, and Arkane also being in some kind of trouble (it’s currently in consultation).It was a long month of entirely earned, god-awful press for Xbox, one during which you’d think the company might have something to say for itself. So how was Xbox responding to all this chaos, to the fear and grief and uncertainty of its thousands of employees and the confusion of its community as to what its future would be?
Why, by hopping on the positive PR circuit, of course.
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Oh, I’m not done. Let’s see how things are going over on The Elder Scrolls Online. Oh, the team was gutted? Including key leadership? After also suffering major layoffs last year? That doesn’t seem good for ESO. But don’t worry, everyone. The team is apparently “at the same size as it was when they made both Wrothgar and Summerset. Which, as we know, are both highly acclaimed DLCs,” according to the associate design director and the associate director of community management. So, I guess any roles added over the last decade were added for absolutely no good reason then, huh? I’m sure it’s fine. Remember how good those expansions were? Remember how popular they were and how much you liked them? Just imagine that Zenimax is doing the exact same sort of thing now, and all the bad feelings will go away.
There's lots more in there. Many so-called "XBox fans" are no more. █