Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Game News Round-Up

Daily curated games-industry news digest for 23 September 2026.

General3 stories

Xbox officially announces more layoffs and widespread changes to its entire studio structure

  • Microsoft is cutting 268 roles across Halo Studios, other Xbox first-party studios and central Xbox management, saying its restructuring is now roughly three-quarters complete.
  • Activision will take oversight of Rare and World’s Edge, and a new Activision team will develop the next Halo game.
  • A smaller Halo Studios team will remain to support existing Halo titles and the community.
  • Bethesda will take oversight of Obsidian, which will continue its existing projects and is also working with Bethesda Game Studios on a new Fallout project.
  • King will take over Microsoft Casual Games.
  • Playground Games and Turn 10 will be combined into a single studio responsible for the Forza and Fable franchises.
  • Microsoft says two potential deals for Ninja Theory fell through and it is now consulting staff on a proposed closure, while discussions around Arkane are expected to continue through the end of 2026
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