Age of Empires Studio World’s Edge Reportedly Loses Nearly Half Its Staff and a New Game in Xbox Layoffs

Behind the scenes of one of gaming’s most storied real-time strategy franchises, a quiet reckoning is unfolding. World’s Edge, the studio that has long stewarded the Age of Empires megaseries, has reportedly lost just under half of its workforce as part of Microsoft’s sweeping Xbox consolidation, with a new game project shelved in the same wave of cuts. The losses trace back to the ongoing transition of Xbox Game Studios’ titles toward Activision, and the studio’s own staff have begun publicly documenting the human cost of the shake-up.

The details emerged through posts on industry forums and professional networks, where affected employees described the scale of the reductions and the fate of the studio’s next title. Adam Isgreen, the studio’s creative director, wrote on LinkedIn that he and “many” colleagues were among the 268 staff in Xbox’s latest round of redundancies. “I am of course disappointed that this is the way the time with World’s Edge and Age ends for myself and many of my talented teammates that were also impacted,” Isgreen says. “We had some great plans for what’s next – and I hope the team that remains can rise to the occasion down the line.”

A New Project Shelved Alongside the Cuts

Among the casualties appears to be a new game that the studio had reportedly been developing. Andrew Martz, a senior software engineer at World’s Edge, also shared his own layoff on LinkedIn, noting that “our next project” had been shelved as a direct result of the Activision move. The cancellation adds weight to the broader narrative of Microsoft retooling its games business, with creative ambitions being traded away in favour of structural consolidation.

It is worth noting that World’s Edge has never been the primary developer of the franchise. The studio has largely performed a stewardship role for Age of Empires and its spinoff Age of Mythology: Retold, while the flagship entries were built through external partnerships. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition was a major collaboration with Forgotten Empires, and Age of Empires IV came from Relic Entertainment, with Forgotten Empires also co-developing Age of Mythology: Retold. World’s Edge has, however, remained in broad control of the RTS franchise overall. There is currently no overt suggestion that this stewardship will end under Activision, though the layoffs and apparent cancellation make clear the studio is still at the mercy of the ownership knife.

“I keep thinking about the people behind the work: the artists, designers, engineers, producers, testers, and community folks who poured years of their lives into these games. Their ideas, their passion, their push to make the best experiences possible for players. Announcements can feel distant, but the impact is personal and immediate for the people living it.”

Earnest Yuen, 30-year veteran AoE developer

Yuen, who retired from Microsoft in June this year, took to social media to offer his condolences to the affected staff. “To everyone who’s leaving: what you built mattered, and it mattered to millions of players. Please take the time you need to process the change and remember you matter,” he wrote. His message underscores a sentiment shared across the industry: the layoffs are not merely a corporate restructuring but a personal blow to the individuals who shaped beloved titles.

Looking Ahead

The 268 job cuts are part of a wider, months-spanning “reset” of Microsoft’s games business, led by recent Xbox CEO appointee Asha Sharma. Around 1,600 workers were laid off in July’s initial round, with total numbers expected to rise to an estimated 3,200 – and those figures are now likely to include the entirety of Ninja Theory, the studio behind Senua’s Saga. As World’s Edge navigates its reduced roster, the franchise’s future under Activision remains uncertain, even as the studio’s core mandate appears intact. For the players who have followed Age of Empires for decades, the coming months will determine whether the studio’s “great plans for what’s next” survive the transition.