Latest news with #PhilSpencer
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
After 11 years of development, 6 years of marketing, and a full reboot, Rare's Everwild has been canceled amid mass Xbox layoffs – 5 months after Phil Spencer's assurances it's making "progress"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Everwild, the gorgeous but mysterious Rare title first announced back in 2019, has been canceled amid the mass layoffs happening today at Xbox. Rare has not yet confirmed the news, but three separate reports now suggest that the game is, indeed, dead. News of Everwild's cancellation was first reported by VGC, which mentioned that "employees are likely to lose their jobs as part of broader restructuring" at the studio. IGN's sources have also corroborated that the game is canceled, as has Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who first reported on today's Xbox layoffs. We'd seen a handful of trailers for Everwild, which offered promises of a big adventure through a strange world filled with unusual animals. The exact details of the gameplay were never clear, but the almost Studio Ghibli-like vibes were enough to catch plenty of attention. Earlier this year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that the game was still making "progress." Reports circulated that Everwild's development had been rebooted in 2021, though Xbox representatives suggested those reports were "a little more extreme" than the truth. However, those same reports alleged that Everwild had been in some form of development since 2014, and a game rarely spends that long in development without some sort of trouble behind the scenes. What the cancellation and the looming layoffs mean for the future of Rare remains to be seen. The studio has a storied history going back to the British computer scene of the '80s, and was a prolific NES developer in its early days. It developed a close partnership with Nintendo throughout the '90s, during which it created the beloved Donkey Kong Country trilogy for the SNES, as well as titles such as GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark for the N64. Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in the early '00s shocked the gaming world at the time, and while many of the studio's games under Xbox were quite good - I'll defend Viva Pinata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts forever - they never made quite the same impact as the earlier Nintendo titles. After years supporting Xbox's ill-fated Kinect peripheral, Rare seemed to finally find its footing with Sea of Thieves, which, while it took some time to really find its footing, proved to be an excellent multiplayer sandbox. Everwild had the potential to be a strong follow-up, but I guess now we'll never know. I expect we'll lose a few more upcoming Xbox Series X games before the day is out. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft orders more Xbox layoffs, boss Phil Spencer tells staff "our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger" but the fourth big round of layoffs in 18 months is coming anyway
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Microsoft has begun a new round of mass layoffs, impacting its gaming division despite Xbox boss Phil Spencer saying that the company's "platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger." Whispers of upcoming job cuts were reported by Bloomberg last week, which now writes that employees are being informed today of the plans. Candy Crush developer King is cutting around 200 jobs, affecting roughly 10% of its staff, according to the site's sources. The exact number of layoffs across other offices, such as in the US and the rest of Europe, isn't currently clear. In a statement provided to GamesRadar+ on July 2, a Microsoft spokesperson says: "We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace." While no specifics were provided confirming the number of Microsoft Gaming employees affected by the layoffs, it's stated that roughly 4% of Microsoft's total workforce has been impacted. As of last year, it was estimated that Microsoft employs roughly 228,000 people. Bloomberg also shares an email that was sent to staff by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer (posted in full by The Verge), who acknowledges that "these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger." However, he adds that "the success we're seeing currently is based on tough decisions we've made previously," and insists that "we must make choices now for continued success in future years, and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. "We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business," Spencer continues. "This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come." Spencer adds that "we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted," and says those affected are "encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review." However, as Bloomberg points out, the situation feels particularly dire, given that this is the fourth round of layoffs since January 2024, when almost 2,000 people lost their jobs. After that, there was the closure of studios, including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks (the latter of which was later revived by Krafton), followed by the layoff of another 650 people a few months later. The full situation still appears to be unfolding, with more details emerging gradually, as it's also been reported that Everwild, an action-adventure from Rare, has been canceled amidst the layoffs. This article has been updated to include a statement from a Microsoft spokesperson. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
微軟旗下 Candy Crush 開發團隊大裁員，員工爆料是被自己開發的 AI 工具取代
Microsoft Gaming 近期大規模裁員波及知名手遊《Candy Crush》的開發工作室 King，多名負責遊戲敘事、使用者體驗、關卡設計及用戶研究的員工被警告工作不保，原因竟是其多年來協助開發與訓練的 AI 模型，如今可更快完成同樣任務。「即使公司整體表現亮眼，但為了效率和利潤就以 AI 工具取代人力，實在太噁心。」一位不願具名的員工向 表示。此外，倫敦 Farm Heroes Saga 的文案團隊也面臨縮編半數的危機。 據該名員工估計，Microsoft Gaming 本月的裁員總數或超過 200 人，此數字與 Bloomberg 最初報導的範圍相符。裁員衝擊不僅限於 King，Engadget 記者 Jessica Conditt 採訪 Halo Studios 員工時，至少有五名開發人員在收到 Phil Spencer 的全員電郵恭賀 Xbox 盈利之後，被告知失去工作。另一名 Halo 開發者控訴，並指出公司正大力推動 Copilot 工具在內部使用：「我真的很生氣，他們正盡全力用 AI 代理來取代我們」。 更多內容： Laid off Candy Crush studio staff reportedly replaced by the AI tools they helped build 微軟裁員 3%、約 7,000 人，主力精簡管理架構 Xbox 團隊或面臨「大幅裁員」，最快下週官宣 Xbox高管建議被裁員工「用AI緩解負面情緒」，遭網友痛批缺乏同理心 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠，追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台！ 🎉📱 Tech Facebook： 🎉📱 Tech Instagram： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道： 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道：
Indian Express
17-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Candy Crush makers are losing jobs to AI they helped build: Report
King, the Microsoft-owned gaming studio behind the iconic Candy Crush franchise, is reportedly preparing to lay off more people and replace them with the same AI tools they developed. These job cuts are apparently happening in departments like level design and narrative writing. The news comes from which, citing sources familiar with the matter, said that the layoff will affect around 50 people, or half the team working on Farm Heroes Saga. 'Most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they've spent months building tools to craft levels quicker. Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams. Similarly, the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating', one employee told the publication on the condition of anonymity. These employees worked from the company's offices in London, Stockholm, Berlin and Barcelona. As it turns out, they largely consist of mid-level management, UX, narrative copywriting, level design and user research staff. The report goes on to say that some of the game's leadership is being 'put on gardening leave', which means that they will have to stay away from the workplace, but will continue to receive salary and benefits. This is usually done to prevent employees from immediately joining a competitor and to prevent sensitive information from leaking. 'The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting. It's all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall. If we're introducing more feedback loops then it's crazy to remove the developer themselves, we need more hands and less leadership', added another employee. As it turns out, some centralised staff, like those working on research and QA, are also being removed, which means the total number of laid-off people may cross the 200 mark. Citing one staffer who was present in the meeting, the report suggests King's leadership allegedly wants to remove layers, stakeholders and other processes which might be slowing down development. Last year, King talked about how it is using AI tools to do its mundane tasks, giving its staff more time for creative thinking. Unsurprisingly, these AI layoffs are not limited to King. Earlier this month, a developer working for Halo developer 343 Industries reportedly told Engadget that they felt frustrated as they lost their job just hours after Xbox head Phil Spencer celebrated the division's profitability. To give you a quick recap, King Studios was previously owned by Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard and came under Microsoft's umbrella when the tech giant acquired Activision for $69 billion back in 2023.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fresh from telling laid-off employees to console themselves with AI, Microsoft doubles down by advertising Xbox jobs with pathetic AI image: 'So tone deaf I hope it is satire'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The rollicking clown car that is Microsoft corporate leadership has outdone itself once again. Earlier this month Phil Spencer said Microsoft's gaming business has "never looked stronger" as he announced mass layoffs, which was swiftly followed up by an Xbox exec suggesting that affected employees use AI to console themselves. And now? A round of slow claps for Xbox's principle development lead Mike Matsel, another victim of terminal LinkedIn brain, who took to the social networking site this past weekend to announce some good news: we're hiring! Except… The post comes with an image that is clearly AI-generated (first spotted by Eurogamer). It shows a cartoon image of a woman smiling and wearing headphones in front of a PC: but look closer and you'll notice that this PC is very special, because the display is on the back of the monitor. Then you notice her eyes aren't on the front of the monitor either (I guess there's not much to see), and she's just staring gormlessly over the top and into the distance. The more you look the worse it gets: the shading on her top is all sorts of wrong; the keyboard just seems to have randomly shaped blocks rather than resembling a keyboard; there's a weird little divot between the thumb and index finger on the left hand. In other words, this is a classic AI-generated image, aka slop. The thing is, this is being posted by a senior figure at Xbox and is explicitly about hiring graphics designers. You'd think that might earn a bespoke visual for any hiring push. Tempting as it may be to dunk on Matsel, the guy also may be trying to keep his own job: Microsoft has said "AI is no longer optional" for its staff, and employees are being evaluated on how they use these tools. The first reply to the post is, appropriately enough, a poop emoji. "This is so tone deaf that I hope that it is satire," replies Kevin Catarino. "Does everyone left at Xbox have brain damage," wonders Rick Desilets. "Are you seriously posting a job ad for Xbox Graphics using this AI garbage? It looks like shit, man, what is happening over there?" "AI is a billion dollar industry, a lot of money and resources have been poured into this, and this is the result of it," says Joseph M. "My god, I don't believe in AI and I never will. It's not worth the hype or money. You could have just hired someone for cheap looking for help with their portfolio to do a much better job than this." Microsoft's latest cuts were a real bloodbath, with studios like The Initiative closed and several high-profile Xbox exclusives cancelled, including Rare's Everwild, an unannounced Zenimax MMO, and the excellent-looking Perfect Dark reboot. Since the start of 2023, Microsoft has fired over 20,000 people. It's also announced that it plans to spend $80 billion on AI this year. Well: I hope you all like hot garbage. Because right now, that's sure looking like the future of Xbox. Solve the daily Crossword
