Call of Duty
News, coverage and analysis tracking Call of Duty across the outlets.
Latest coverage
Xbox has lost five studios – so who is left to make new video games?
Xbox has undergone significant layoffs, impacting approximately 3,200 staff members and leading to five studios divesting from the company. Xbox leadership aims to refocus on core franchises and expand its daily audience to over a billion people through its services. The article details the remaining studios, their current projects, and their future prospects under this new strategy.
Xbox Wants To Entertain 1 Billion People Every Day. It Can’t Even Explain How
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma outlined a goal for the company to entertain over one billion people daily, a target that seems ambitious given recent layoffs and the current reach of Xbox services. While mobile games like Candy Crush and Minecraft, along with other Microsoft titles, contribute to daily active users, they fall significantly short of the one billion mark. The strategy for achieving this goal, particularly through mobile gaming and potentially third-party titles, remains unclear.
Xbox Game Pass subscription numbers are reportedly well below where Microsoft wants them to be
Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers have reportedly fallen to 30 million, significantly below Microsoft's target of 77 million by 2026. This decline follows a substantial price increase for Game Pass Ultimate and a change in strategy regarding day-one releases for Call of Duty titles. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma cited Game Pass growth troubles as a reason for recent job cuts within the Xbox division.
Xbox Moves On From 4 Studios and Layoffs Off Thousands of Others
Xbox has announced significant restructuring, impacting over 1600 employees and planning for another 1600 over the next two fiscal years. Four studios—Double Fine Productions, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs—will become independent or be acquired by new entities, retaining their intellectual property. Numerous other studios, including Zenimax Online, Id Software, Obsidian, and Bethesda Game Studios, are also undergoing substantial layoffs as Xbox refocuses on its major franchises like Call of Duty, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Halo, and Minecraft.
The Gaming Industry Is Eating Itself Alive
Xbox is undergoing a massive restructuring, including 3,200 layoffs, impacting numerous studios and divisions like Activision, Bethesda, and Blizzard. While some studios regain independence and first-party projects remain safe for now, the article criticizes Xbox's overall strategy, citing Game Pass's performance and declining hardware revenue. The piece also touches on PlayStation's similar issues with digital ownership and preservation, painting a bleak picture for the future of gaming costs and ownership.
The Xbox reset is not going to work if it’s just a retreat to the past
Microsoft's Xbox division continues to face significant challenges, marked by recurring mass layoffs and declining results. Despite the high volume of job cuts and studio closures, the company's future strategy remains unclear, with speculation that new leadership may be attempting to revert to past successes rather than innovate. The article questions the sustainability of this approach, especially concerning hardware sales and the exclusivity of major franchises like The Elder Scrolls 6.
Xbox Layoffs 2026: What Microsoft's Reset Means for Average Gamers
Microsoft's Xbox division has undergone a massive restructuring, cutting approximately 3,200 jobs in fiscal year 2027 and shuttering or spinning off five studios, including Ninja Theory and Arkane Lyon. This move comes despite Microsoft's overall profitability, with Xbox reportedly struggling with low profit margins and a failed attempt to achieve a 30% accountability margin. The article analyzes the business decisions, including Game Pass accounting and price hikes, that led to these layoffs and discusses the implications for gamers, including potential changes to hardware strategy and game exclusivity.
The $69 Billion Hangover: Every Xbox Layoff Since The Activision Blizzard Merger
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion has been followed by significant layoffs and studio closures within its Xbox division. These cuts, described by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma as a "reset" due to an unhealthy business, have impacted thousands of employees and led to the cancellation of several game projects across various studios since January 2024.
New Xbox CEO Admits Game Pass Bet Has Not Worked Out
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced a strategic reset for the Xbox business, acknowledging that major bets like Xbox Game Pass have not grown at the expected pace. The plan includes mass layoffs and selling off studios, as the company shifts focus to higher priority projects. Sharma admitted the core business has weakened, leading to this significant shakeup.
Xbox cutting 3,200 jobs and parting ways with Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs
Microsoft has initiated a significant restructure of its Xbox division, eliminating 3,200 jobs and parting ways with four studios: Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma stated the cuts are necessary due to underperforming bets on Xbox Game Pass and multiplatform releases, as well as a severe hardware crisis impacting component prices. The company aims to streamline operations, reduce management layers, and foster a more efficient development environment.
7 Game Mechanics That Somehow Escaped Video Games and Took Over the Internet
Modern casino games are increasingly incorporating mechanics from video games, such as progression systems, skill-based elements, and social features, to appeal to a generation accustomed to interactive entertainment. This trend is driven by players' expectations for engaging experiences, leading to the gamification of entire online casino platforms. The lines between video games and online gambling are blurring as developers borrow successful elements to enhance player engagement and retention.
Why Modern Players Expect Casino Games to Borrow Features From Video Game
Modern casino games are increasingly incorporating features from video games, such as progression systems, skill-based elements, and immersive visuals, to appeal to a new generation of players. This trend, known as gamification, aims to enhance player engagement by making casino experiences more interactive and rewarding, blurring the lines between traditional gambling and video entertainment.
War Fantasy is “the anti–Call of Duty” and delivers a kick to the groin of the games industry’s relentless gamification of conflict.
War Fantasy, developed by a former Call of Duty developer, is described as an "anti Call of Duty" game that critiques the gamification of conflict. The game aims to expose how war is marketed to players and highlights the tragic cost of conflict, contrasting with typical war game narratives.
PS5 digital-only petition hits 100,000 as Sony allows some game discs after 2028
Sony is phasing out the production of new game discs for its consoles, with publishers only allowed to press discs for already-released games after January 2028. Despite a petition reaching 100,000 signatures and comments from Hideo Kojima, the company appears committed to its digital-first strategy, likely due to the majority of players already purchasing games digitally. This move impacts the availability of physical media and raises concerns about game preservation and streaming.
What on earth is happening to the video games industry? - Reader's Feature
A reader expresses frustration with the current state of the video game industry, citing issues like mass layoffs, Sony's focus on live service games, and Microsoft's acquisition strategy. Concerns are raised about the move towards digital-only sales and the potential high cost of future consoles like the PlayStation 6. Despite these criticisms, the reader acknowledges the strength of the indie scene and the resurgence of companies like Capcom.
The hard truth about Sony killing PlayStation games on disc
This article argues that the shift towards digital game sales on PlayStation, driven by consumer convenience and industry trends, is inevitable despite vocal opposition. It highlights that legal ownership of games is often a license rather than true ownership, and physical discs are becoming less reliable and representative of the final product.
Former Call of Duty frontman launches new studio with a 'Stop Killing Games'-style mission statement: If the…
Former Call of Duty strategist Robert Bowlling has co-founded a new studio called //18.bravo, aiming to "stop killing games" with a focus on "forever play" and community-driven longevity. The studio's debut project will not be a live service game and will feature dedicated servers and optimized P2P architecture. Bowlling also plans to open-source code and assets if the studio ceases operations, promoting a replicable model for game preservation.
Is yet another Microsoft studio, Obsidian, negotiating with Xbox to avoid closure? Conflicting reports emerge
Conflicting reports suggest that Obsidian Entertainment is negotiating with Microsoft to avoid closure, amidst a wave of layoffs affecting other Xbox studios like Arkane, Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs. While one report indicates internal sentiment blames poor Call of Duty performance for these decisions, another source denies Obsidian is in negotiations to shut down, stating the studio will be kept by Xbox.
Game Crossovers and Collaborations
A training experiment within the Marine Corps utilized the video game Call of Duty to simulate combat scenarios. This initiative explored the potential of using popular gaming technology for military training purposes.
Evening Reading - July 30, 2026
This article rounds up various gaming news items from July 30, 2026. Highlights include a live-action Persona adaptation for Netflix, a fall 2026 release window for Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2, and SECI Interactive warning of staffing decisions after Microsoft pulled out of publishing Project Fantasy. It also touches on esports events like EVO 2026 for 2XKO and mentions updates for games like Battlefield 6 and Turok: Origin.
