Back in 2023, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $75.4 billion. I can’t remember when exactly I started to hear the quasi-joke people would make: Xbox is going to eat Activision Blizzard, and Activision Blizzard is then going to eat Xbox from the inside out. That is no longer a joke, and it’s more or less our reality. I’m not saying this is a good thing, nor am I saying it’s a bad thing; I’m merely stating that this is definitely a thing that’s happening. Let’s go through it.

Halo, Rare, and World’s Edge - Now Under The Activision Umbrella

Earlier this year, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced that they would be doing layoffs and restructuring Xbox. Now, we’re seeing what that truly meant. Entire studios are being let go, an estimated 3,200 Xbox employees will be let go, and studios are being moved around for a more streamlined ecosystem. 3 of the studios impacted are Halo Studios, Rare, and World’s Edge.

Halo Studios, of course, works on the Halo franchise. That’s the only property they’re in charge of. World’s Edge is in charge of the Age of Empires franchise. Like Halo Studios, they only have one property under their care. Rare, on the other hand, is known for having worked on Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Sea of Thieves.

Earlier this week, Xbox COO Matt Booty announced that the Halo franchise will now be handled by a new team within Activision and that Rare and World’s Edge will no longer be a part of Xbox Game Studios and will now fall under the umbrella of Activision.

With this restructuring, unfortunately, came layoffs. We don’t know the exact numbers of how many were affected in each studio, but we do know that a total of 268 people were laid off. A lot of that came from Halo Studios, with one rumor stating that there are only 20 employees left. The studio will continue to exist “to support the Halo community and games in-market,” said Xbox COO Matt Booty.

World’s Edge Creative Director Adam Isgreen stated that under half of the studio was laid off. We don’t really know what happened with Rare, but it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that they were also hit with layoffs.

But what this means is that Halo, Sea of Thieves, and Age of Empires, 3 big Xbox properties, will now be under the watch of Activision. Although Halo’s glory days are in the past, many still consider it Xbox’s flagship franchise. So, to see it and the other two under the Activision banner is pretty wild.

Also, it was announced that Microsoft Casual Games will now be transferred over to King, the company behind Candy Crush. If you’re wondering why I’m bringing this up, it’s because King was a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard before the latter was acquired by Microsoft.

So, to sum up, that’s four Xbox properties that have been transferred over to Activision Blizzard. Of course, it’s awful to hear about people losing their jobs. But it does make sense to move studios and properties around if they want to streamline Xbox. And it’s not like Activision Blizzard owns all of Xbox’s biggest properties. Forza, Fable, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Gears of War are still with different studios.

You could look at it like Activision Blizzard taking over Xbox, or you could look at it like Activision Blizzard is Xbox’s most successful property. It’s all a matter of perspective.

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