- Gears of War: E-Day has opened to critical acclaim on Xbox, while studio The Coalition fears imminent post-launch layoffs.
- Employees at the studio feel that Microsoft will lay them off as part of the ongoing "XBOX Reset" restructuring plan.
- Some employees fear they could miss out on financial bonuses, leaving them hesitant to celebrate the game’s release.
Xbox’s first console exclusive this year, Gears of War: E-Day, is off to a roaring start, opening with an 88 on Metacritic at the time of writing. Meanwhile, developers at The Coalition fear post-launch layoffs as part of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s ongoing “XBOX Reset” restructuring plan that she announced back in July
According to Eurogamer, anonymous employees behind Gears of War: E-Day fear layoffs could be imminent after the game launches on October 2, 2026, potentially costing them Metacritic bonuses and other financial incentives.
The concerns come as Microsoft continues its “XBOX Reset” job cuts, having eliminated around 1,600 jobs in July, with more reportedly expected this fiscal year.
Previously, The Coalition employees felt that Microsoft “had faith” in the studio and that morale was ” not full death march”. They admitted that “The mood is certainly ‘let’s not celebrate the game until we’re three months post-launch, just in case’, which is very unusual”.
All was well until the last week, when Xbox cut even more jobs and consolidated multiple video game studios. Yes, it’s the same ongoing restructuring that put Halo under Activision, along with other major changes, such as Xbox merging Forza and Fable developers into a single studio.
Microsoft also laid off Gears of War: E-Day’s story director, Juan Vaca, just a week before the game’s early access release.
The Gears of War: E-Day devs described the Xbox layoffs as “very demoralising,” with developers reportedly “unhappy about it and on edge.” Some of them are now “just expecting the next wave, or being reorganised under Activision or something later this year.”
One employee told Eurogamer that “There was a general perception here that we’re in a relatively secure spot, despite everything in the industry. But now that feeling is up in the air.”
This is truly unfortunate, as Gears of War: E-Day is getting critical acclaim from reviewers, so in a just world, The Coalition employees should celebrate. However, they fear they could face a potential layoff before receiving their Metacritic bonuses at the end of October.
