Continuing Our Reset

XBox Wire says Microsoft is continuing its Xbox reset with 268 role eliminations across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the XGS management and central functions layer. The company says the actions completed since July, including studio divestitures, put it roughly three-quarters of the way through the restructuring it announced earlier this year.

The bigger operational change is a studio reorg meant to reduce the number of business units and align teams that already collaborate closely. Activision will expand its remit to World’s Edge and Rare, and it will also lead development on the next Halo title through a new team separate from ongoing Call of Duty work. A small Halo Studios team will stay on to support the live Halo community and in-market games.

Bethesda is taking on Obsidian, which will keep working on Grounded and a new Fallout project with Bethesda Game Studios. King will absorb Microsoft Casual Games, while Playground and Turn 10 are being merged into one studio focused on Forza and Fable. For developers, the practical takeaway is that Microsoft is concentrating franchise ownership and publishing leverage into fewer orgs, which can change approval paths, staffing, and long-term support expectations.

On the divestiture side, Compulsion and Double Fine have already returned to management with their IP, back catalogs, and runway funding. Undead Labs has now transitioned on similar terms and will ship State of Decay 3 day one on Game Pass with a new publisher. Ninja Theory is now facing a proposed closure after two deals fell through, while Arkane’s...