Microsoft Layoffs Expected to Impact Over 14,000 Workers by 2026

WHO:

GamesIndustry.biz - Amir Satvat, business development director at Tencent Games, maintains the ASGC Games Industry Layoffs Tracker.

WHAT:

GamesIndustry.biz - Layoffs at Microsoft are expected to affect 14,259 people by the end of 2026, a 78% increase from an initial forecast of 8,025 layoffs for the year.

GamesIndustry.biz - The number of layoffs has risen to 9,781 as of July 26.

GamesIndustry.biz - A previous forecast on July 10 projected 13,878 layoffs, marking an increase of 381 redundancies in just over two weeks.

GamesIndustry.biz - The first major round of Xbox layoffs affected 1,600 employees across Obsidian, Bethesda, Id Software, and Zenimax Online Studios.

WHERE:

GamesIndustry.biz - North America accounts for 66% of layoffs and 79% of affected workers, with the United States at 48% and Canada at 17%. Europe accounts for 30%.

WHEN:

GamesIndustry.biz - The layoffs are projected to occur by the end of 2026.

GamesIndustry.biz - The timing of Microsoft's remaining 1,600 cuts is unclear, with some potentially falling in the back half of FY27, during calendar 2027.

WHY:

GamesIndustry.biz - The pace of layoffs is accelerating faster than initial predictions, according to Amir Satvat.

HOW:

GamesIndustry.biz - The ASGC Games Industry Layoffs Tracker is used to monitor and predict layoffs in the gaming industry.

(UPDATED July 28, 2026 22:27 UTC)

Layoffs at Microsoft are projected to impact a staggering 14,259 employees by the end of 2026, which is a significant increase from the initial forecast of 8,025. As of July 26, the number of layoffs has already reached 9,781, with North America accounting for 66% of these cuts, while the first major round affected 1,600 employees across several studios. Amir Satvat, the business development director at Tencent Games, notes that the pace of these layoffs is accelerating faster than expected, prompting the use of the ASGC Games Industry Layoffs Tracker to monitor these developments.