Microsoft is selling off four Xbox studios as part of significant gaming cuts
Microsoft is selling off four Xbox studios as part of significant gaming cuts
微软正在出售四家 Xbox 工作室，作为其重大游戏业务削减计划的一部分
Microsoft is laying off 4,800 employees today, and more than 30 percent of the job losses are in the company’s Xbox division. The significant gaming cuts will affect nearly every part of Xbox and also involve four game studios being spun off to be run independently from Microsoft.
微软今日宣布裁员 4,800 人，其中超过 30% 的裁员集中在 Xbox 部门。此次大规模的游戏业务削减将波及 Xbox 的几乎所有部门，并涉及将四家游戏工作室剥离，使其脱离微软独立运营。
Today’s layoffs, which are being described as an Xbox “reset” moment, will impact around 1,600 Xbox employees, according to an internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. The cuts won’t end today, though, as Microsoft is planning to eliminate a total of around 20 percent of Xbox jobs by the end of the financial year in July 2027.
根据 Xbox 首席执行官 Asha Sharma 的内部备忘录，此次裁员被描述为 Xbox 的“重置”时刻，将影响约 1,600 名 Xbox 员工。然而，裁员并不会在今天结束，微软计划在 2027 年 7 月财年结束前，总共削减约 20% 的 Xbox 岗位。
Double Fine and Compulsion Games are returning to their founders, so Tim Schafer will take Double Fine back to independence along with Guillaume Provost making Compulsion Games an indie game studio again. Ninja Theory, the maker of Hellblade, and Undead Labs, the developer behind State of Decay, are also being sold, with agreements in place to ensure Senua and State of Decay 3 continue to ship.
Double Fine 和 Compulsion Games 将回归其创始人手中：Tim Schafer 将带领 Double Fine 恢复独立，Guillaume Provost 也将使 Compulsion Games 重新成为一家独立游戏工作室。此外，《地狱之刃》(Hellblade) 的开发商 Ninja Theory 和《腐烂国度》(State of Decay) 的开发商 Undead Labs 也将被出售，相关协议已确保《塞娜》(Senua) 系列和《腐烂国度 3》能够继续发行。
“I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale,” says Sharma. “I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building Xbox. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved Xbox. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.”
“我意识到为期一年的重组会带来额外的挑战。遗憾的是，我们无法在一天之内完成所有必要的变革，我希望坦诚地说明其规模，”Sharma 表示。“我知道这很痛苦。这些变动将直接影响那些为打造 Xbox 倾注心血的人们。许多人是通过收购加入我们的，也有人是被招聘而来，或是因为热爱这个行业和 Xbox 而主动加入。今天的决定并不代表对他们才华或奉献精神的否定。”
Microsoft is also weighing up selling or closing another Xbox studio, as I reported last week. Arkane Studios is currently working on Blade under Xbox management, but the project has been delayed and is running over budget. “In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options,” says Sharma. These discussions could take months, so it’s not clear what will happen to Blade or Arkane Studios just yet.
正如我上周报道的那样，微软也在权衡出售或关闭另一家 Xbox 工作室。Arkane Studios 目前正在 Xbox 的管理下开发《刀锋战士》(Blade)，但该项目已延期且超出预算。Sharma 表示：“在法国，Arkane 的管理层已开始与工会委员会进行必要的磋商，以审查潜在的战略选择。”这些讨论可能需要数月时间，因此《刀锋战士》或 Arkane Studios 的未来尚不明朗。
Other Xbox studios will also be impacted by layoffs across the board, and I understand there are larger cuts to Bethesda studios in particular. As part of the studio changes, Minecraft maker Mojang and Candy Crush developer King will both now report directly to Sharma. “These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and Xbox Game Studios,” says Sharma. “None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.”
其他 Xbox 工作室也将受到全面裁员的影响，据我了解，Bethesda 工作室受到的削减尤为严重。作为工作室调整的一部分，《我的世界》(Minecraft) 开发商 Mojang 和《糖果传奇》(Candy Crush) 开发商 King 现在都将直接向 Sharma 汇报。“这些变动在动视、Bethesda/ZeniMax、暴雪、King、Mojang 和 Xbox 游戏工作室之间的规模各不相同，”Sharma 说道。“我们已公开宣布的第一方游戏或项目，均不会因这些削减计划而被取消。”
Today’s cuts at Xbox look like they’re targeted at reversing some of the smaller studio acquisitions that former Xbox chief Phil Spencer made in an attempt to compete more with Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft now appears to be aligning around bigger franchises, instead of trying to compete with indies with titles like South of Midnight, Kiln, and Keeper.
Xbox 今日的裁员似乎旨在扭转前 Xbox 负责人 Phil Spencer 为提升 Xbox Game Pass 竞争力而进行的一些小型工作室收购。微软现在似乎正转向围绕大型 IP 进行整合，而不是试图通过《午夜之南》(South of Midnight)、《Kiln》和《Keeper》等作品与独立游戏竞争。
“We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios,” says Sharma. “It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset Xbox, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.”
“我们现在发现自己不仅要与最大的发行商竞争，还要与小型独立工作室竞争，”Sharma 说。“拥有每一家伟大的独立工作室既不可能，也不可取。我们也意识到，我们并非每一类工作室的最佳归宿；在往常年份，我们每投入一美元就会亏损 64 美分。在重置 Xbox 的过程中，我们将通过提供开放的开发工具和受众群体，帮助独立创作者实现他们的愿景。”