xbox

Double Fine lays off 23 staff weeks after Xbox spun studio out

Double Fine Productions cut 23 employees less than a month after Xbox transitioned the studio to independence. The studio said the layoffs were needed to reach a sustainable size and to ensure "the survival of our studio," and it acknowledged the departing staff "made an impact" and "will be missed." The studio had about 90 employees before the cuts, and the spin-off followed Microsoft's July restructuring that eliminated roughly 3,200 gaming jobs.

• Double Fine terminated 23 employees during its first weeks as an independent studio.
• The studio said the reductions were to "become a size that we can sustain" and to ensure "the survival of our studio."
• Double Fine had around 90 employees before the layoffs; current post-cut headcount has not been disclosed.
• The spin-off occurred as part of Microsoft's July restructuring that cut about 3,200 jobs; Compulsion Games, another studio made independent, sought external work shortly afterward.