By “We did not make these choices lightly”
We’ve heard about lots of layoffs at Xbox today, which has led to multiple cancelled games highlighted by Perfect Dark and Everwild, and Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty has issued an internal statement about this to employees.
In his statement, as shared by Variety, Booty notes how “several unannounced projects” are also being cancelled across Xbox’s portfolio, and insists the choices were not made lightly. Here’s his full message:
“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.”
This follows a similar internal message from Xbox boss Phil Spencer earlier this afternoon, who advised that the company would “end or decrease work in certain areas of the business” in order to “position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas”.
We were anticipating some pretty major layoff news ahead of today, but Everwild and Perfect Dark‘s cancellation didn’t seem on the cards – and now we’re just hoping everyone affected lands on their feet as soon as possible.
Fraser is the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he spends his time reporting on the biggest stories in the world of Xbox and beyond.