Journalist Jason Schreier in the material of the publication and the Kotaku portal reported that the previously announced massive staff cuts at Microsoft will also affect its gaming division.

Recall that within the framework of the official appeal, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed that about 10 thousand employees will leave the company by March 31 (approximately 5% of the total).

The cuts also affected internal Microsoft game studios: Bethesda Game Studios (now developing Starfield), 343 Industries (Halo Infinite) and The Coalition (Gears series).

343 Industries reportedly received a "hard hit". The Lords of Gaming portal talks about 60 laid-off workers. At least two former employees have confirmed parting ways with the studio.

Head of 343 Industries Pierre Hintze told staff in an email that the company has "made a difficult decision" to restructure the team, and some roles have been eliminated.

Creative director and Halo franchise veteran Joseph Staten, who joined 343 Industries in 2020 to help fix Halo Infinite, will be leaving the studio and returning to the Xbox publishing arm.

It is noteworthy that Microsoft revealed the plan for mass layoffs exactly a year after the announcement of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The record deal met with resistance from the US Federal Trade Commission.