Matt Booty assures that over 40 games remain in active development at Xbox Game Studios, everything seen in the Showcase is safe

Microsoft assures that Xbox Game Studios still has 40 active projects after layoffs and cancellations.

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The reorganization that Microsoft Gaming is undergoing continues to claim major victims. Following the official closure of The Initiative studio, it has now been confirmed that Perfect Dark and Everwild projects have been definitively canceled, along with other unannounced titles internally by Xbox.

According to Variety, this decision was communicated in an internal memo signed by Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, on Wednesday. In it, Booty indicates that “several projects have been liquidated” and priorities have been adjusted to focus resources on the most viable long-term productions.

Xbox cancels projects, but ensures it maintains over 40 games in development

Despite the impact, Xbox Game Studios maintains over 40 titles in active production. Matt Booty himself wanted to make this clear in his message to staff, also reaffirming that all games presented at the Xbox Games Showcase in June will move forward, unaffected by this restructuring.

The executive explains that these moves are part of a larger effort to adapt to the changing context of the video game industry, where concentration of efforts and strategic focus are considered fundamental to ensuring success.

We have decided to stop the development of Perfect Dark and Everwild, as well as liquidate several unannounced projects from our portfolio. As part of this, we will close one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes in our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and concentrate resources so that our teams can achieve greater success in an ever-evolving industrial landscape. We do not take these decisions lightly, as each project and team represents years of effort, imagination, and commitment.

With this wave of decisions, Microsoft seeks to preserve projects with the greatest potential in the medium and long term. Nevertheless, the closure of studios like The Initiative and the cancellation of games like Everwild confirm a new era of harsh cuts within the Xbox ecosystem, which already includes several affected teams such as King, Bethesda, ZeniMax, or Turn 10.