The next console is also being projected to cost an arm and a leg, it's claimed
Further rounds of layoffs as part of Xbox's ongoing efforts to eventually have fed 3200 people into the furnace are reportedly planned to take place during this month, November, and January. The company previously made clear more cuts, following on from two rounds of mass layoffs already this year, would be coming at some juncture.
Meanwhile, an overhaul of Xbox Game Pass is reportedly in the works and sounds aimed at offering subscribers more control of which individual aspects of the service they want to pay for as part of their deal.
Both of these claims come from a profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma by biz mag Fortune. Citing people familiar with the exec's layoff plans and noting that such plans can change, the magazine claimed that the next rounds of layoffs in Xbox's ongoing cull are pencilled in for this month, November, and January. We're a good way into October, so it'd appear that if culling is planned this month, the company are potentially leaving it quite late.
Fortune reported that Xbox management's call to deliver this year's layoffs in multiple waves has left some staff demoralised, as anyone unsure of whether they or their colleagues might be sitting beneath a sword of Damocles that could fall at any time understandably would be. Not that ripping the plaster off all at once would have made taking 3200 workers off Xbox's books any less terrible a prospect.
After rearranging Xbox's studio structure by filing the likes of Obsidian under bigger bits of the business like Bethesda during the last round of layoffs, Sharma and co are reportedly planning an overhaul of Xbox Game Pass. The subscription service Xbox got fully behind during previous boss Phil Spencer's reign hasn't been seen as the be all and end all since Sharma took over, but is still being allowed to stumble on without the likes of day one Call of Duty for now.
According to the report, the next overhaul being planned for Game Pass will see it evolve to, in Fortune's words, "have players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure". Sounds to me like the offer of increased flexibility in the hopes of making the service more palatable to folks who might not be sold on using every last thing it traditionally offers as part of a sub.
Xbox are also hard at work on a next-generation handheld they're aiming to debut around 2027's holiday season, the report claims, also alleging there's been some behind-the-scenes battling between Xbox and Windows factions over the operating system it'll run. Xbox's next console reportedly isn't slated to rock up until 2028, not that anyone'll necessarily be able to afford one given Xbox internal projects cited in the report have it costing between $1,200 and $1,800 to buy, unless Xbox opt to subsidise it. RAM crisis, innit.
In addition to being amid mass layoffs, Xbox parent company Microsoft are still currently subject to a BDS movement boycott over their reported ties to the Israeli military.