World's Edge Reportedly Loses Nearly Half Its Staff in Xbox Cuts

The fallout from Xbox's latest round of cuts is becoming clearer, and it looks painful for the team behind Age of Empires. World's Edge has reportedly lost "nearly half" of its staff following yesterday's restructuring.

The company's initial announcement confirmed that World's Edge would be moved under Activision's control as part of the reorganisation. What it did not say was whether the studio would lose anyone in the process. New reports now suggest that a large share of the team has been let go, leaving the developer far smaller than it was a day ago.

World's Edge is the Microsoft-owned studio that oversees the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology franchises. It works alongside partner developers on the wider series, which has enjoyed a strong revival in recent years, including remasters, expansions and a steady flow of content on PC and consoles. Losing close to half its people is a serious blow for a team that has been responsible for keeping several long-running strategy games supported.

The move under Activision is also a notable shift. Age of Empires has traditionally sat in a very different corner of the Xbox portfolio from Call of Duty and other Activision properties, and it is not yet clear what the new arrangement means for the studio's direction or its release plans.

Neither the exact number of departures nor the affected roles have been officially confirmed, and the figure comes from reports rather than a statement from Xbox. We will update this story if the company clarifies the scale of the cuts or says how the Age of Empires roadmap will be handled going forward.