Ben Starr Accuses Microsoft of Lies After 3,200 Xbox Layoffs
Updated
Updated · GameRant · Jul 10
Ben Starr Accuses Microsoft of Lies After 3,200 Xbox Layoffs
3 articles · Updated · GameRant · Jul 10
Summary
Ben Starr said Microsoft misled developers and fans before Xbox cut 3,200 jobs, calling the company’s messaging around consolidation and studio support “lies.”
On the Pause for Thought podcast, Starr argued Microsoft’s 2018-19 acquisition spree was sold as protection for creative studios, a claim he said has been disproved by the current cuts.
He also called Xbox’s June 2026 Senua 3 reveal dishonest, saying the game was promoted for Game Pass even though Microsoft allegedly had no plan to fund it and was seeking a buyer for Ninja Theory.
The July 6 layoffs will remove about 20% of Xbox’s 15,000-person workforce—roughly half immediately and the rest by June 2027—after leadership acknowledged the business is “not healthy.”
Starr said Microsoft was also wrongly spinning Compulsion Games and Double Fine becoming independent as good news, arguing the broader restructuring has left many workers jobless and without clear answers.