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Yesterday — 7 July 2026Main stream

IO Interactive Doubles Down on Project Fantasy Funding Alone After Xbox Bails, Shuttering Its Istanbul Office to Survive

7 July 2026 at 21:30

A group of adventurers in fantasy armor stand at the entrance of a cave, overlooking a vast, sunlit valley in a digital artwork. It's an artwork for the game Project Fantasy by IO Interactive.

Last week, IO Interactive announced that it was forced to cut some of its staff after Xbox abandoned funding for the Project Fantasy IP, first revealed over three years ago. Today, the developer has confirmed that it regained complete control of the intellectual property and the project, which it still wants to fund out of its own pockets. However, the downside is that the Istanbul studio, which opened in March 2023, will have to shutter. Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP. We will continue to develop and […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/io-interactive-project-fantasy-funding-alone-xbox-bails-istanbul-office/

Xbox Layoffs Have Reportedly Gutted id Software, Obsidian, and ZeniMax Online, and Elder Scrolls Online’s Roadmap Will Have to Change

7 July 2026 at 11:00

A collage featuring cover art for three games: 'The Elder Scrolls Online: Season Zero - Dawn and Dusk,' 'Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations,' and 'The Outer Worlds 2: Premium Edition.' Their studios are heavily affected by the 2026 Xbox layoffs.

Under the guise of the great Xbox reset, Asha Sharma's big scissors have cut heavily among the internal studios. While none of the studios that were in danger of being closed will actually be shut down, which is indeed amazing news, some of the most successful teams remaining inside Xbox and Bethesda have been severely affected by layoffs, according to reports. Obsidian Entertainment, for instance. The Californian studio has been one of the most productive since it joined Xbox in 2018, releasing The Outer Worlds 1 & 2, Grounded 1 & 2, Pentiment, and Avowed. Granted, none have been runaway […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-layoffs-gut-id-obsidian-zenimax-online/

Before yesterdayMain stream

Four game studios are leaving Xbox, and there could soon be a fifth

Xbox is downsizing, and five studios are on the way out Xbox is in the middle of the largest restructuring of the company’s history, with Asha Sharma, the CEO of Xbox, confirming that the Xbox team will be reduced by around 3,200 employees. Today, there will be around “1,600 role eliminations”. Four game studios will […]

The post Four game studios are leaving Xbox, and there could soon be a fifth appeared first on OC3D.

Asha Sharma’s Xbox Reset Cuts 3,200 Jobs as Compulsion and Double Fine Go Indie, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs Sold

6 July 2026 at 18:10

Asha Sharma smiling with an Xbox logo in the blurred green background.

The layoff hammer has finally fallen at Xbox, with CEO Asha Sharma herself announcing that the division will lose 3,200 employees through job cuts and four studio divestitures (plus a wildcard). The wildcard is Arkane Lyon, which the executive says has already begun the obligatory consultation with its Works Council to" review potential strategic options". This suggests every option is still on the table for the studio that made Dishonored and Deathloop: closure, going independent, or finding a buyer. The known quantities are Compulsion Games (Contrast, We Happy Few, South of Midnight) and Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, Broken […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-reset-3200-layoffs-studio-shake-up/

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