BREAKING! NOT ONLY AOE III DE WAS IN THREAT ALL XBOX/MICROSOFT GAMING IS GOING DOWN

Age of Empires III: DE III - Discussion
1

As title says MS recent layoffs on its Gaming Division only recalls the incompetence, the betrayal, the mismanagement of its own studios, games, projects, IPs, workforce and so

Microsoft seems to be like not knowing what to do with its own gaming division
As a user on Youtube video wrote “Xbox continually not realising that their leadership is the problem”
This is the memo that Xbox boss Phil Spencer sent to employees:

Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.

I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.

Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.

HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.

Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey.

Phil

And this is from Matt about the CANCELLATION OF PERFECT DARK AND EVERWILD
Here is Booty’s memo to staff:

Following Phil’s note, I want to share more about the changes to the Studios business units.

We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.

Our overall portfolio strategy is unchanged: build games that excite our players, continue to grow our biggest franchises, and create new stories, worlds, and characters. We have more than 40 projects in active development, continued momentum on titles shipping this fall, and a strong slate headed into 2026.

For those directly affected, we are working closely with HR and studio leadership to provide support, including severance, career transition assistance, and where possible, opportunities to explore roles on other teams.

To everyone across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to define who we are. I believe in the strength of our teams and the direction we’re taking on the path ahead.

Matt

Sounds familiar?
Now everything makes sense, sadly

2

Don’t panic! It doesn’t say how this affected to Forgotten Empires and Tantalus!

3

FE tantalus and other partner studios aren’t owned by microsoft, only contracted, so they should be just fine, WE however is owned by MS so expect some cuts
just not where they probably should be

1 Like
4

You simply do not get it
All of this had and is having an effect on all AoE series and its current state, not only III and III DE being cut and dimished

1 Like
5

I didn’t see any mention about dev’s of the AoE series in the news! Please, proof.

6

Money money moneeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy…

I have the impression that it’s getting worse and worse in the Western world regarding dismissal

7 Likes
7

The problem is that WE is the one making decisions.
So that’s why WE got crazy over “getting results” and “big numbers”
And they are not afraid to axe any game to protect themselves as long as they don’t get laid off.
Just the same with aoe2, they got crazy over the chinese market and released 3K. Too bad it backfired and chinese players hate it just as much as we do.

This is what happens when executives take bad decisions and make it worse for them and everybody else by ruining the games. They killed aoe3 on purpose just because they wanted more numbers. They ruin aoe2 for the same reasons.

10 Likes
8

Exactly!
Being extremely unpleasant with the consumer and only obey all of that for more profit and revenue

9

Yes, it explains more about that here… it’s a shame for the workers, but it was coming since Microsoft relaxed or made bad decisions…

Yes, but the saga belongs to Microsoft… remember that Microsoft had to close Ensemble because they were too expensive to maintain and because of the 2008-2009 crisis…

2 Likes
10

Too bad I didn’t see World’s Edge in the list.

1 Like
11

We don’e know their business plan, but surely AOE1DE and AOD3DE have been put out of the radars. AOE2DE is the most played game of the saga, so seeing more and more DLCs is understandable…
But, I’d expect these firings will result in more and more (paid? who knows?) overwork for who doesn’t leave. When decisions like these are made, who always pays is who is at the bottom of the hierarchy.

1 Like
12

Understandable for II but not for III to be totally annihilated

13

True
More and more money
More and more disgrace

14

I liked this dialog from r/Games:

Poster A:

At what point do we acknowledge that the shitshow is just Microsoft as a whole, not 343 in particular.
If it’s one studio shitting the bed, then that’s bad management at the studio. When you’ve got everything turning to shit across multiple different arms of a massive corporation, you need to look higher up.

Poster B:

Its because people love to repeat the same made up narratives over & over. Microsoft has somehow been lauded as hands off, which is nowhere near particularly true.
The entire landscape of the studios under them conform to the operating structure Microsoft prefers. They infect every aspect of companies they run. They dont need to order a company what to do, because the people who will do that are already hired at the company.

(All emphases mine)

Poster C:

Meanwhile the redfall devs were WISHING they had more input and said microsoft was TOO hands off

Poster D:

Yes, but that was because they were working on a project that had been forced on them to being with. So they hoped MS would bypass local leadership and twist the entire thing into something else. If, by contrast, they had been working on Prey when MS came along, they would very much not have said MS was being too hands off.

1 Like