Xbox's current situation is far from optimistic. Microsoft Gaming is undergoing a major structural restructuring, planning to cut a total of 3,200 jobs. Against this backdrop, Xbox CEO Sarah Bond's recent trip to Japan has drawn public criticism from the former head of a studio under the Microsoft banner.
Bond visited Kojima Productions in Tokyo, where she observed the studio's operations and met with Hideo Kojima himself. The announcement that Kojima Productions' game Physint would be published by Microsoft after Sony ended its partnership coincided with the release of photos from her visit.
Given Xbox's current predicament, this move is truly baffling. A veteran industry developer has also publicly voiced their dissatisfaction.
Shannon Loftis, former head of World's Edge, the developer behind the Age of Empires series, posted on the social platform Threads: "The irony is thick. Asha Bond told the Wall Street Journal last week that 'clarity is kindness,' then immediately initiated layoffs. So the Sword of Damocles counts as clarity? I don't get it."
She was referring to a Wall Street Journal profile on Bond, which discussed the Xbox head's management philosophy regarding layoffs and internal turmoil. Bond adheres to the principle that "clarity is kindness," advocating for bad news to be delivered directly and bluntly. While there is logic to avoiding ambiguity, it's hard to feel this so-called kindness when you're told your job is on shaky ground.
Reportedly, this week's Xbox restructuring and layoffs affected World's Edge studio, with details of the cuts gradually leaking out via social media. Shannon Loftis, who left the studio in 2022, posted on LinkedIn to comfort her former colleagues, saying the news "broke her heart." She stated, "I don't yet know how many people were affected by today's news, but I can say with certainty that these are doers who understand how to make games and bring joy to players."
Her Threads post radiates disappointment and resentment. Loftis also sarcastically remarked, "Please, Asha, post more 'cool' photos of you fawning over Hideo Kojima in Japan. This is the kind of leadership game developers need."
Sigh. It's easy to imagine how repulsed developers who were laid off or saw massive changes to their roles and teams over the past few months must feel seeing Bond's high-profile meeting with Hideo Kojima. The contrast between aggressively cutting costs through layoffs while management pursues big-ticket collaborations abroad is simply hard to accept.
That said, Bond's job isn't to manage interpersonal relations but to lead Xbox out of its current困境 (predicament). Securing Hideo Kojima's project has at least yielded immediate results in terms of grabbing attention. Whether this will truly bring substantial business improvements for Microsoft remains to be seen.