The gaming industry in the Pacific Northwest has been dealt some major blows in the past few weeks.

Monday, Microsoft announced it would be cutting thousands of full time employees and “restructuring” their XBox division, where 1,600 jobs were cut. It’s not immediately clear how many of those are Washington-based.

Last month, Bellevue based game studio Bungie announced it would be laying off almost 300 full time employees here in the state.

What's behind the upheaval in gaming right now? And what does this mean for our favorite franchises? 

GUEST:Sam Machkovech

RELATED LINKS:
XBox CEO Asha Sharma's letter posted on X
Xbox to cut 20% of workforce, plans to divest of five studios
Microsoft cuts 4,800 across Xbox, sales divisions, redeploys hundreds more
A Studio Shattered: The Aftermath Of The Mass Bungie Layoffs

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

The gaming industry in the Pacific Northwest has been dealt some major blows in the past few weeks.
Monday, Microsoft announced it would be cutting thousands of full time employees and &ldquo;restructuring&rdquo; their XBox division, where 1,600 jobs were cut. It&rsquo;s not immediately clear how many of those are Washington-based.
Last month, Bellevue based game studio Bungie announced it would be laying off almost 300 full time employees here in the state.
What's behind the upheaval in gaming right now? And what does this mean for our favorite franchises?&nbsp;
GUEST: <a href="https://www.samred.com/">Sam Machkovech</a>
RELATED LINKS:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://x.com/asha_shar/status/2074124008795369482">XBox CEO Asha Sharma's letter posted on X</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.gamefile.news/p/xbox-to-cut-20-of-workforce-plans">Xbox to cut 20% of workforce, plans to divest of five studios</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-cuts-4800-across-xbox-sales-divisions-redeploys-hundreds-more/">Microsoft cuts 4,800 across Xbox, sales divisions, redeploys hundreds more</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/06/26/a-studio-shattered-the-aftermath-of-the-mass-bungie-layoffs/">A Studio Shattered: The Aftermath Of The Mass Bungie Layoffs</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

"Restructuring" at Microsoft's XBox division brings cuts and studio divestment - but what's behind the layoffs?