Deep cuts in Microsoft’s gaming division have eliminated 158 positions in Texas across the ZeniMax group of gaming teams, according to a WARN layoff notice provided by state officials to Game File. That cut is hitting 96 roles in Richardson, Texas, 40 remote roles for that same office, as well as 22 in Austin. The Richardson location is the publicly listed address for Doom studio id Software, but also includes workers from other Bethesda groups, Game File understands. (Yesterday, Aftermath reported that id had lost more than 90 workers.) The Austin location that’s losing 22 jobs is also part of the Bethesda gaming team. These cuts are part of the 1,600 layoffs announced by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma on Monday, themselves part of 3,200 jobs Microsoft plans to cut from its gaming division by the end of June 2027. Sharma cited an unhealthy Xbox business for an overall 20% downsizing of the Xbox gaming team. Most of the discussion of the cuts has involved the spin-off of five studios (accounting for roughly 350-500 people) and the downsizing of Xbox’s platform team. But the cuts have impacted the swathe of Xbox studios, including id, the venerable first-person shooter studio which released an expansion to its most recent Doom game yesterday.
Published: July 8, 2026 5:41 pm
Source: Game File | Stephen Totilo — Read original