Microsoft’s latest Xbox layoffs and studio restructuring disrupted what had otherwise been an exciting autumn period for new game releases. The changes have raised concerns about Xbox’s identity, its diminishing first-party studio group and the future of major franchises such as Halo.

Microsoft cut 268 jobs, reduced Halo Studios substantially and transferred Halo and Rare to Activision. The article notes that Xbox Game Studios now consists of only three studios, while Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda and Minecraft increasingly represent Microsoft’s wider gaming power; although the restructuring may address previous shortcomings, the scale and speed of the upheaval could harm games still in development.