Microsoft Gutted Age of Empires Developer World's Edge Right Before Shuffling It to Activision
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Microsoft cut nearly half the staff at Age of Empires studio World's Edge and cancelled its next project just as the team was shifted under Activision.
World's Edge, the Microsoft studio steering the Age of Empires franchise, lost nearly half of its workforce this week as part of a massive wave of layoffs affecting the broader Xbox division. IGN South Africa reported that the staff reductions coincided with an abrupt corporate reorganization that places World's Edge under the Activision umbrella, alongside the outright cancellation of the studio's next unannounced project. Veteran developers with decades of tenure shared the news on social media, revealing that upcoming plans for the strategy series have been completely upended.
The cuts hit the studio hard, with former studio creative director Adam Isgreen and senior software engineer Andrew Martz confirming the layoffs and project cancellations online. Former lead principal software engineer Greg Snook even received his termination notice on his twenty-fifth hire anniversary while on vacation. While World's Edge has historically managed the real-time strategy series through external partnerships with developers like Relic Entertainment, the future of the franchise remains murky now that remaining team members answer to Activision.
Despite the organizational turmoil, the Age of Empires ecosystem chugs along, evidenced by the recent launch of the Viking Sagas downloadable content for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, which brings fresh civilizations and campaign scenarios to players. Even so, the timing of these cuts stings for a community that watches studio stability erode in real time. As Microsoft continues to restructure its gaming division around broader corporate targets, players are left wondering how the remaining staff will be deployed and whether future franchise entries will maintain the creative depth fans expect.
Tags: Age of Empires, Microsoft, Activision, Industry News, Strategy Games
Original article: IGN South Africa