Xbox Reportedly Planning Three 更多 Rounds of Layoffs, First Wave as Early as This Month

Xbox is reportedly preparing for three additional rounds of layoffs as Microsoft’s gaming division continues CEO Asha Sharma’s plan to reset the business. According to a new report, the first of these is taking place this month, followed by another in November and one in January 2027.

That’s according to “people familiar with the plans,” who revealed the details to Fortune Magazine in a new report which also featured a profile of Sharma. Plans could change, however, the people said.

If true, this would be the second round in as many months, following September’s round which saw the elimination of 268 roles alongside organisational changes that moved Obsidian under Bethesda, with Rare and World’s Edge joining Activision.

Those layoffs are part of what’s considered the second major wave in Xbox’s larger plan to cut costs and return the division to profitability. The first wave was the largest by far. It took place in July and saw over 1,600 job cuts. The remaining 1,600 are planned to be distributed across future quarters, culminating in the early months of 2027.

Thanks to this latest report, we now know when those remaining cuts will occur. The report does not offer any information on which teams are in Sharma’s crosshairs, considering the massive cuts that already took place at its largest and most iconic studios.

One of the biggest remaining question marks, however, surrounds the fate of Gears of War: E-Day studio The Coalition. The Canadian first-party studio just released the third-person shooter to what appears to be softer than anticipated sales.

Eurogamer spoke to members of The Coalition’s development team as they were preparing to release E-Day, and it’s clear there’s widespread worry Xbox will reduce staff at the studio now that their latest project has shipped. Many also fear the cuts could be timed in such a way to prevent those potentially getting laid off from receiving promised bonuses.

We’re well over halfway through October, so if the information is accurate, the bad news is likely to be announced this week or next. The same report also revealed that Xbox is internally estimating next-gen Helix consoles to cost between $1,200 and $1,800.

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Infinity Ward opened up early access to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s DMZ extraction mode overnight, meaning anyone who has pre-ordered a copy can now play the game’s campaign as well as DMZ. And while early reactions to DMZ are fairly positive, there’s one issue in particular, which a number of players have experienced, that has the capability of ending a round as soon as it begins.

The issue is to do with where DMZ spawns players. As an extraction shooter, DMZ’s Hajin map offers multiple random spawn locations, and unlike traditional 多人游戏 modes, DMZ spawns are often on the edges of the map – far away enough from any action to allow players a chance to strategise and pick a target destination.

But unfortunately, one of the spawn-points Infinity Ward picked happens to be placed in the middle of a road, meaning that if you’re unlucky, you might spawn as an enemy patrol is driving on it, flattening you and ending your round.

This nearly happened to Reddit user grillimperator, who was given a small window of time to jump out of the way. Reddit user Deep-Operation-3552, however, wasn’t so lucky, immediately falling to the ground as soon as they got control of their character after the infil cutscene. As others noted in the replies, the timing of the ‘Welcome to the DMZ’ voice alert playing just as they die makes it all the more absurd. Judging by those examples, at least, there doesn’t appear to be any form of spawn protection.

DMZ offers certain options to get back up after being downed, but if you don’t have the necessary equipment, there’s nothing you can do. Still, that wouldn’t have mattered in the above instances, because the players were run over twice.

Given the persistent nature of DMZ, dying also means losing everything you entered the match with, which could be infuriating if that was the round you decided to pack your good gear.

Thankfully, the bug is one of several issues Infinity Ward fixed in a new DMZ patch. The patch notes specifically called out the problem: “Fixed some instances where enemy AI could run over players while infilling.”

Modern Warfare 4’s final mode, traditional 多人游戏, unlocks at the game’s full launch this Friday, 23rd October on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2. So far, players appear to be happy with the game’s campaign, making it one of the most well-received COD games on Steam. One player even managed to finish the campaign on its hardest, single-life mode YOLO.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (2026)