Protests hit Xbox Studios!

Photo credit: Emilio Gonzalez

by L.W. and Ann Marie Barker

Xbox workers protested outside several studios last week after a new round of layoffs, arguing that employees are paying the price for leadership decisions.

Much of the criticism centered on CEO Asha Sharma, who framed the layoffs as part of a broader “reset” for Xbox. Protesters challenged both the reset itself and her long-term ambitions for Xbox, calling them unrealistic.

One protest sign read, “One billion? Are they stupid?”—a reference to Sharma’s goal for Xbox to entertain one billion people per day. She shared that target while announcing layoffs, and it has since been widely mocked by the gaming community.

Another sign appealed directly to players: “Microsoft is killing your games.” The message appeared to reference Xbox canceling multiple projects and making deep cuts to teams behind major releases, including the recent Doom games.

The Communications Workers of America union (CWA), which represents many game workers, organized protests across six locations:

• ZeniMax in Austin, Texas, US

• ZeniMax in Rockville, Maryland, US

• id Software in Dallas, Texas, US

• Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, US

• Obsidian in Irvine, California, US

• Victoria Square in Montreal, Canada

Several of the protest sites were among the studios hit hardest by the cuts. ZeniMax Online Studios has undergone its second leadership shakeup in a year, and updates for The Elder Scrolls Online are being reassessed. Meanwhile, id Software has reportedly lost up to 75% of its workforce, while Obsidian has lost about 25%.

The restructuring is meant to refocus teams around major franchises, including Obsidian’s reported work on a Fallout game. However, the loss of experienced staff could make those plans harder to execute. Compounding those concerns, another 1,600 layoffs are expected later this year.

Many of the studios affected by the layoffs, including some later spun off, had been following Xbox’s stated strategy: releasing games consistently and helping expand Game Pass. When that approach failed to deliver the desired results, the most visible leadership change was the departure of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond from Xbox, with Sharma stepping in. For many workers, the deeper consequence has been that developers—not executives—have carried the cost.

Our take? This moment is a flashpoint for the entire industry. Xbox’s restructuring is meant to consolidate resources around major franchises, but losing so much experienced talent makes those goals harder to achieve. The protests reflect a growing sentiment across game development—workers are tired of carrying the cost of executive decisions.