And all of this is after more layoffs and shutdown 18 months ago which closed Arkan Austin, Alpha Dog Games and the developer of Xbox’s best game in a while, Hi-Fi Rush’s Tango Gameworks, which had to be saved by another company.

The Initiative, the Xbox studio developing a modern reimagining of Perfect Dark, is being shut down, and development of the game is ending. As first reported by Windows Central, the studio's closure is part of major cuts Microsoft is making across its business,

Microsoft's recent round of layoffs has seen the closure of The Initiative and the cancellation of the upcoming Perfect Dark.

Microsoft has reportedly cancelled Everwild, an in-development game from UK-based Sea of Thieves developer Rare, and potentially other projects amid a round of layoffs that will see the company lose upwards of 9000 employees.

While some other European gaming offices are also cutting, US units are reportedly being informed later Wednesday. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, sent an email to all Microsoft Gaming employees regarding the layoffs,

Microsoft says it is laying off about 9,000 workers, its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than two years