Age of Empires Studio Cuts Almost Half Staff Amid Microsoft Restructuring

Microsoft's World's Edge studio, which developed Age of Empires games, has seen nearly half of its staff let go as part of a larger restructuring effort. The cuts are estimated to be around 268 employees across the Xbox business, with a projected target of 3,200 job losses for the current financial year.

The layoffs were confirmed after it was announced that World's Edge would be joining Activision under Microsoft's ownership. However, details on how the studio's employees were impacted remained unclear until staff began sharing their experiences on social media.

A former studio creative director, Adam Isgreen, wrote about his disappointment and the cancellation of the next Age of Empires project. Other laid-off staff members shared similar messages, with one noting that it was his 25-year anniversary at Microsoft. The fate of World's Edge under Activision is unclear.