Here's What Every Single Xbox Studio Is Working On Right Now

The widely reported Xbox layoffs have finally taken place, with CEO Asha Sharma releasing an extensive statement to both every employee and the general public confirming that 3,200 layoffs will unfold throughout FY27, 1,600 of which occurred earlier this week.

Alongside this barbaric news came the announcement that studios Double Fine and Compulsion Games will be independent entities from now on while retaining their library of IP. Meanwhile, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have found new owners and projects like Senua and State of Decay 3 will see the light of day. Arkane’s future and the production of Blade is still unclear as the company negotiates with French financial bodies to figure out the next step.

I’ll be honest — releasing studios and allowing them to maintain full ownership of IP is far better news than I had expected, and at the very least gives them a chance at success now this dark chapter has passed. But in a better world, these short-sighted mistakes would not have been made in the first place.

Studios like Obsidian, idSoftware, and Bethesda have also been gutted, with hundreds of talented developers being let go in order to cut costs, with little thought going into exactly how their expertise applies to both current and future projects. These teams are now left scrambling to fill voids of talent needed to reach the finish line or continue supporting existing projects. Little about this situation is good, and I hope Microsoft explains how this is going to impact the future of the medium as it aims to set itself up for a more sustainable one.

That being said, we have gone ahead and compiled all the projects currently in the works at active Xbox studios, as well as those who recently departed. We’ll start with those...

I haven’t included Activision Blizzard or King within this list, because many of its huge franchises are already well known and operate as separate entities.

Double Fine Productions

Having recently released the critically underwhelming yet incredibly charming Kiln alongside the masterfully sombre Keeper, we had no idea what other projects Double Fine was working on ahead of this week’s separation from Xbox.

I know from its history that Double Fine is a multi-game studio and loves to juggle a project or two between different teams, and wouldn’t be surprised if a larger Tim Schafer-led game was in some form of development. Perhaps Psychonauts 3 or an all-new experience? Only time will tell, but I hope it lands on its feet since the industry wouldn’t be the same without Double Fine.

Compulsion Games

Similar to Double Fine, we know nothing about the current projects of Compulsion Games. It had recently released South of Midnight for PlayStation 5 and previously delivered We Happy Few.

Its intention under Xbox was clearly to create compelling, narrative-driven titles. If the future is bright, hopefully it will continue to produce visually and mechanically distinct tales that manage to tell stories that no other developer is right now. I’d sure like to see it.

Arkane

Since it was acquired by Xbox, the corporation has already closed Arkane Austin, a part of the studio responsible for titles like Prey and Redfall. Since then, Arkane Lyon has been hard at work on Marvel’s Blade.

We haven’t seen any gameplay from this title yet, and reports suggest it is both over budget and behind on development milestones, so I’m hopeful it can find a new publisher or a way to reach the finish line without making too many compromises. Arkane has made several masterpieces in its time and deserves so much better than this.

Undead Labs

Pretty much only known for the beloved zombie-slaying franchise, Undead Labs is working on State of Decay 3 right now, which received a bunch of fresh gameplay footage and details over the summer months.

It’s shaping up nicely and has the potential to attract a large and passionate community of players just like its predecessors, something Undead Labs’ new owners are well aware of.

Ninja Theory

Located just down the road from where I live, Ninja Theory is a multifaceted studio that has made everything from DmC: Devil May Cry to Bleeding Edge and Enslaved. Recently though, it has been focused solely on the world of Hellblade.

Senua, a new entry in the series which does away with the Hellblade moniker entirely, was announced during this year’s Xbox Game Showcase. Here’s hoping it thrives under new leadership.

Now, let us move onto the mountain of studios still owned and operated by Xbox, many of which also suffered extensive layoffs early this week that will impact them for years to come.

Halo Studios

Like much of Xbox, Halo Studios is going through a reboot of sorts right now. Once known as 343 Industries, this developer is spearheading the future of Master Chief into an all-new generation by leaving the Reclaimer Trilogy and Halo Infinite behind.

This future begins with the release of Halo: Campaign Evolved later this month, a remake of the first game developed on Unreal Engine 5 that wants to pull in both casual and hardcore fans alike. What comes after that is anybody’s guess, but I hope it doesn’t try to be a greedy live service.

The Coalition

Yet another studio responsible for just a single franchise, The Coalition is currently putting the finishing touches on Gears of War: E-Day ahead of its release this October.

Many studios have already been shuttered or sold in recent years, whether it be Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog, or The Initiative. The grave keeps getting deeper.

It previously developed Gears 4 and 5 before abandoning that trilogy’s narrative in favour of a reboot/prequel. Once again, where the series goes after this remains unclear, but I would not be shocked if we’re thrust into the future or get remakes of the original trilogy, because few things sell better than hollow nostalgia.

Turn 10 Studios

Founded back in 2001 and once responsible for producing hugely successful entries in the Forza Motorsport franchise, Turn 10 has faded into the background somewhat as the most recent entry underwhelmed and failed to maintain a consistent audience.

In recent years, it has helped Playground Games on the production of each Horizon title and currently has none of its own projects in development that we know of. Chances are it is also helping out on Fable given it uses the same engine.

Playground Games

Speaking of which, Playground Games is easily the most prolific and successful Xbox studio in recent memory as it continues to put out critically and commercially successful Forza titles while also finishing up Fable for its February 2027 release.

Both Forza Horizon 6 and Fable are expected to receive post-launch updates and support, so expect those to remain the focus before it moves onto pastures new.

Rare

Acquired by Microsoft back in 2002 before the launch of Xbox 360, in recent years Rare has become a Sea of Thieves machine and not much else. It was working on Everwild until it got cancelled amidst development hell, while lovely compilations like Rare Replay are a decade old at this point.

I’m shocked that Xbox hasn’t thrown them loads of money to bring an icon like Banjo back from the dead, or at the very least manage it competently enough to release more than one game a decade.

Obsidian Entertainment

According to recent reports, Obsidian Entertainment was hit especially hard by recent layoffs as large percentages of entire teams were wiped off the map, putting the future of projects in doubt because the expertise no longer exists at the studio to create them.

The Outer Worlds 2 launched late last year while early access work continues on Grounded 2, but what else Obsidian has in the pipeline is a mystery. Many people are hoping with all their hearts it will be Fallout: New Vegas 2, and with Xbox eager to focus on huge IP in the future, this sure seems likely. I just hope a studio with this much talent is able to keep on telling its own great stories however it likes.

InXile Entertainment

This isn’t a household name compared to some other studios mentioned here, but InXile is the developer behind the upcoming Clockwork Revolution. Everything we’ve seen from the game thus far paints it as incredibly ambitious and stylish, and I just hope it hasn’t lost some vital talent required to fulfill its creative vision.

Its last game was Wasteland 3, a game which was praised for its obscene level of depth and rewarding yet challenging gameplay mechanics. If Clockwork can match that game at all, it’ll be a banger.

Id Software

I could write an entire book about the pedigree of id Software, a studio responsible for giving life to the first-person shooter genre and birthing classics like Doom, Quake, and more. Just last week, it released a major expansion to Doom: The Dark Ages in Revelations, giving our lovable Doom Slayer a demonic spear to hurl around as he pleases.

Unfortunately, much like Obsidian, the team was decimated by recent layoffs as talent from across the Dark Ages team and beyond was let go. What this means for both its next game and the evolution of gameplay engines like idtech remains unclear. Doom and Quake were mentioned as major IPs to focus on by Sharma and company, so they will have a future.

MachineGames

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a surprise commercial hit for MachineGames, and a truly wonderful experience for so many reasons, but now the Swedish developer is returning to the world of B.J. Blazkowicz and company for Wolfenstein 3.

Little is known about this next entry, including whether it’ll ignore the polarising events of Youngblood and instead be a direct sequel to New Colossus. I am very excited about killing more Nazis, even if I have to wait a while to find out how such torture will be inflicted.

Bethesda Game Studios

Recent reports suggest that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still two or more years away from release. I wouldn’t be shocked if this rings true given the scope of such a game, although BGS was also struck by recent layoffs that put the development pace of such a project in jeopardy, with some insiders claiming they faced the biggest cuts of any studio.

Xbox is keen to focus on big and consistent wins moving forward, which will undoubtedly put franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls in the spotlight. Millions of people love them, so surely producing games quicker would be better, right? I’m not so sure, doubly so, if a lot of the talented studios already mentioned are brought in as support to move things forward.

It feels like we are witnessing the death of Double-A at Xbox right now.

Zenimax Online Studios

The Elder Scrolls Online is consistently successful and sports a very active community, but this sadly might not be the case for much longer, as much of the team has been decimated by these recent layoffs.

People who worked at the studio for almost two decades were let go this week, with players both casual and passionate bringing the future of ESO into question.

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