Microsoft Slashes Age of Empires Studio Staff Before Activision Transfer, Nearly Half of Workforce Cut

World's Edge, the studio behind Age of Empires, has lost almost half of its employees this week as part of Microsoft's latest round of layoffs. The cuts are part of the 268 staff let go across the wider Xbox business, contributing to a projected 3,200 job losses over the current financial year.

On Monday, it was announced that World's Edge would be moved under Activision, but the impact on the studio's employees was initially unclear. Since then, staff have taken to social media to report that nearly 50% of the company has been laid off and that its next project has been cancelled.

"I am of course disappointed that this is the way the time with World's Edge and Age ends for myself and many of my talented teammates that were also impacted — we had some great plans for what's next," wrote Adam Isgreen, formerly the studio's creative director, who had been with World's Edge for 16 years. "I hope the team that remains can rise to the occasion down the line."

"Our studio was reorganized to be under the Activision umbrella," added Andrew Martz, formerly a senior software engineer at the studio. "As part of that reorg, our next project was cancelled and a large chunk of our studio was laid off. I was part of that layoff."

"'It was nice working with you' was not a message I expected to get while on vacation," wrote another laid-off staff member, former lead principal software engineer Greg Snook. "Like many others, I was cut loose from Microsoft today. Turns out my last day with building access is also my exact 25-year hire anniversary."

The future of World's Edge under Activision, as well as the Age of Empires brand as a whole, remains uncertain. While the studio oversaw development of the real-time strategy franchise, it relied on partnerships with external developers such as Relic Entertainment, which was the primary developer for Age of Empires IV. Launched in 2021 for PC, it has since been ported to Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

Will Age of Empires 5 follow? It seems inevitable, though Activision's ownership may see the studio's remaining staff put to work elsewhere. A Halo strategy title, perhaps, now that Activision is also overseeing Xbox's main shooter brand? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, the Viking Sagas DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition launched on Tuesday. It adds three brand new civilizations, 15 new single-player campaign scenarios, and more.