Amid the video game cancelations and studio closures which have come as a consequence of Microsoft’s devastating round of layoffs this week is concern about the destiny of just about each Xbox game with out a firm release date.
Microsoft video games canceled as half of the cuts embrace Rare’s Everwild, an unannounced MMO from ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer of The Elder Scrolls Online, and the Perfect Dark Reboot. The latter's developer, The Initiative, was shut down. The team working on Blizzard’s mobile game Warcraft Rumble was laid off as new content ceased.
Meanwhile, exterior builders who have been funded by Microsoft have been additionally hit. Romero Games, the studio based by Doom co-creator John Romero and Brenda Romero, has suffered significant layoffs and the future of its new shooter is in doubt.
That’s a lot to take in, but it begs the query: which Xbox Game Studios video games stay? And which, if any, have been quietly canceled?
In a memo despatched to all Microsoft gaming employees and seen by IGN this week, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, mentioned Microsoft nonetheless has "more than 40 projects in active development, continued momentum on titles shipping this fall, and a strong slate headed into 2026."
Additionally, a source informed Variety that each game featured at the Xbox Games Showcase presentation in June is constant on. So, what have been these video games, which we now assume are secure — at least for the time being?
Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was at the show, and is for certain to return out later this 12 months (regardless of the layoffs hitting its varied builders). inXile game Clockwork Revolution starred at the show, in order that’s secure. Obsidian’s Grounded 2 and The Outer Worlds 2 have been at the show and we must always assume are each secure. It's a comparable deal for Double Fine’s Keeper, The Coalition’s Gears of War: Reloaded, Ninja Gaiden 4, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s Order of the Giants DLC. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, and the ROG Xbox Ally, each at the show, will proceed too. Despite the cancelation of Everwild, Rare’s Sea of Thieves continues with new updates.
At the finish of the showcase, Xbox boss Phil Spencer teased Forza, Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, and a Halo: Combat Evolved remake for 2026. We assume since these video games have been talked about, they’re secure, though it’s price noting that the Forza talked about by Spencer no doubt pertains to the subsequent Forza Horizon game from Playground, which can be making Fable. Turn 10, which makes the more sim-focused Forza video games, was hit arduous by the layoffs.
So, we all know which video games Microsoft nonetheless intends to release. But, given the occasions of this week, it’s now not possible to consider different Xbox video games in the works with out a degree of concern. Everwild and Perfect Dark have been conspicuous by their absence at final month's show and each have been canceled. What else failed to show up?
Minecraft — bear in mind Microsoft owns Minecraft! — stays big and secure as homes, you are feeling. But what about Contraband from Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios? Where’s Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3? Ninja Theory’s Project Mara? Microsoft has a Hideo Kojima game, OD, on its books. Is that also taking place? Toys for Bob, the Crash Bandicoot 4 developer and Call of Duty assist studio that left the Xbox-owned Activision in February 2024, signed an settlement with Xbox on to publish its subsequent game. Is that also alive?
And what about Bethesda? ZOS’s MMO has fallen by the wayside, but absolutely Bethesda Game Studios' The Elder Scrolls VI and the subsequent Fallout are effective. Starfield’s promised subsequent enlargement feels precarious, given Bethesda's radio silence on the game. And what about Blizzard? As of last year it was reportedly hard at work on a StarCraft shooter. Is that also the case?
It’s solely whenever you run by means of what wasn’t at the Xbox Games Showcase final month that you simply notice what’s at stake right here: Microsoft owns a big quantity of growth studios throughout the globe, from Bethesda to Blizzard and Activision to Halo. When Xbox suffers vital issues, a big swathe of the video game industry and its builders do, too.
All eyes are on August's gamescom, the place Microsoft is predicted to show more of what’s has coming down the line. Perhaps Phil Spencer will give followers a clear thought of what’s in the works from Xbox and what isn't as Microsoft's multiplatform push troopers on. It is still planning to release a next-gen Xbox console, though we don't know when. Is the first-party Xbox handheld Spencer teased final 12 months additionally nonetheless alive? Does Microsoft nonetheless plan to release its own gaming app retailer, regardless of the failure of Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, Warcraft Rumble, and this week's vital cuts to Candy Crush maker King?
In the short time period, at least, the video games we noticed in June are nonetheless on the approach. But the long time period future of Xbox stays obscure certainly.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].