Double Advantageous Productions, the developer of video games like Psychonauts and Kiln, is reportedly one among three studios earmarked for closure. microsoft It’s because they intention to cut back prices for the Xbox enterprise. Though no official announcement has been made but, Double Advantageous’s BlueSky account responded to the report, giving us an concept of how these at the moment within the studio are feeling.
For many of 2026, it appears like Xbox is on an upward trajectory. The corporate has spent a lot of the 12 months making selections which are fashionable with avid gamers, from decreasing the worth of Xbox Sport Cross to saying that the controversial Microsoft Copilot AI instrument won’t be coming to consoles.
Sadly, on June tenth, a lot of the goodwill Microsoft and Xbox had earned took a giant hit when CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty launched an open letter to Xbox workers stating that they wanted to “reset their enterprise.” Shortly after, studies began circulating that layoffs had been coming, and on June 15, we realized extra about what that meant.
In line with Bloomberg, three studios are at the moment preventing to keep away from being shut down by Microsoft: South of Midnight developer Compulsion Video games, Hellblade developer Ninja Idea, and Double Advantageous. The report states that every one three builders are at the moment in negotiations to interrupt away from Microsoft and change into impartial, however means that doing so may result in “important job cuts” even when closure is averted.
Each Compulsion and Ninja Idea remained silent on social media, however Double Advantageous’s BlueSky account posted after the report was printed. The workforce didn’t present any verbal remark, however posted one emoji: a smiling face with sweat beading on its brow. This emoji is usually used to specific nervous laughter or to point out reduction when a troublesome state of affairs seems properly.
It’s unclear what this emoji means on this regard. It may very well be the nervous snigger you get when you do not know what the longer term holds, or it may very well be an enormous sigh of reduction that you’ve got gained independence away from Xbox. For now, we should await additional info.
As for Xbox, the corporate’s future stays unsure. Microsoft president Satya Nadella has already mentioned Xbox must change into a sustainable enterprise and acknowledged that it wants to enhance its product monetization. Xbox goes by a interval of main upheaval, with studies that Xbox Sport Studios head Craig Duncan and chief of workers Louise O’Connor are each leaving the enterprise, and it is unclear what is going to occur to the corporate when it ends.
