# Age of Empires studio World’s Edge reportedly lose nearly half their staff and a new game project in mass Xbox layoffs

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/age-of-empires-studio-worlds-edge-reportedly-lose-nearly-half-their-staff-and-a-new-game-project-in-mass-xbox-layoffs/
- Published: 2026-09-23T17:42:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-24T00:07:41+00:00
- Original publisher: Rock Paper Shotgun
- Original article: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/age-of-empires-studio-worlds-edge-reportedly-lose-nearly-half-their-staff-and-a-new-game-project-in-mass-xbox-layoffs
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming, TV

## Key points

- World’s Edge reportedly lost nearly half its staff.
- Its next game was allegedly cancelled during the Activision move.
- Cuts are part of Microsoft’s wider gaming reset.

## Summary

World’s Edge reportedly lost just under half its staff during Microsoft’s restructuring of Xbox’s games business, with creative director Adam Isgreen among 268 employees made redundant. The transition of the Age of Empires studio from Xbox’s direct control to Activision also allegedly led to the cancellation of its next game project, underscoring the disruption caused by the reorganisation.

World’s Edge primarily oversees Age of Empires and Age of Mythology, collaborating with developers such as Forgotten Empires and Relic Entertainment rather than making every game itself. The cuts form part of a wider Microsoft gaming reset that began with about 1,600 redundancies in July and was expected to reach roughly 3,200 workers; there is no indication that Activision will end World’s Edge’s stewardship of the franchises.

## Coverage

- [Rock Paper Shotgun: Age of Empires studio World’s Edge reportedly lose nearly half their staff and a new game project in mass Xbox layoffs](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/age-of-empires-studio-worlds-edge-reportedly-lose-nearly-half-their-staff-and-a-new-game-project-in-mass-xbox-layoffs)
- [Eurogamer: Age of Empires studio World's Edge reportedly lost "nearly half" of its staff during yesterday's Xbox cuts and move to Activision](https://www.eurogamer.net/age-of-empire-worlds-edge-studio-xbox-cuts)
- [GamesRadar+: RTS legend laid off after 16 years at Microsoft as Xbox guts Age of Empires studio World's Edge](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/age-of-empires/rts-legend-laid-off-after-16-years-at-microsoft-as-xbox-guts-age-of-empires-studio-worlds-edge-we-had-some-great-plans-for-whats-next/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.