Xbox layoffs hit Age of Empires developer World's Edge Studio, next project canceled

World's Edge Studio, the developer behind the Age of Empires series, was hit hard by Xbox's latest round of layoffs announced last Tuesday. Nearly half the studio was let go, according to former employees who shared details on social media.

"FYI World's Edge was not spared completely—just under half the studio was let go—myself included," said Adam Isgreen, former creative director at the studio, in a post on Resetera verified under the account name Tempus Chaoti.

Andrew Martz, a former senior software engineer at World's Edge, added on LinkedIn that the studio's next project was canceled as part of the reorganization. "A large chunk of our studio was laid off," Martz wrote. "I was part of that layoff."

The layoffs also coincided with World's Edge Studio now being placed under Activision's management, alongside Rare, the developer of Sea of Thieves. Isgreen reflected on his work reviving the RTS genre with the Age of Empires series. "I didn't think I'd be working on RTS games again years after their first 'heyday,' but am I ever proud of what our studio team and partners were able to do with the series and juice the genre's return," he wrote on LinkedIn.