The departure was announced alongside Ford detailing a new restructuring that includes the establishment of a "Product Creation and Industrialization" unit.
Compulsion Games is returning to independent management after its time with Xbox. The studio will retain the rights to its games: Contrast, We Happy Few, and South of Midnight. They expressed gratitude for their years with Xbox and excitement for the future.
Apple has reinstated card payments for Apple Account purchases in India, over four years after suspending the option. This move adapts to India's digital payment regulations, allowing users to use Visa and Mastercard for subscriptions and App Store purchases.
AI stocks led a rebound on Wall Street, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher, despite a majority of stocks falling. Broadcom, Micron, and AMD saw significant gains. Oil prices drifted after OPEC+ announced production increases, while global markets showed mixed performance.
Microsoft cut approximately 4,800 jobs, 2.1% of its global workforce, impacting Xbox and commercial sales the most. This move, with 1,600 roles eliminated at Xbox, is framed as a necessary restructure due to industry changes and AI integration, despite assurances that AI is not directly replacing these roles.
Xbox is undergoing its most significant restructure, impacting approximately 3,200 roles by FY27, with 1,600 layoffs today. Four studios will transition to new management, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine becoming independent, and Ninja Theory and Undead Labs moving to new ownership. The company cites unhealthy business operations, lower margins, and industry hardware crises as reasons for the changes, aiming to simplify operations and refocus content strategy.
Microsoft has announced job losses primarily affecting its Xbox division and commercial sales organizations, though specific numbers or locations were not detailed in the brief report.
