A producer at Xbox Game Studios has some advice for the thousands of people that his company just laid off: turn to AI for consolation. Yes, you read that right.
In a since-deleted LinkedIn post, Matt Turnbull, an executive producer at Xbox for nearly 14 years, addressed Microsoft’s mass layoffs of 9,000 people this week, including many at the company’s gaming division.
“These are really challenging times, and if you’re navigating a layoff or even quietly preparing for one, you’re not alone and you don’t have to go it alone,” Turnbull began. So far, so good — surely he’ll follow that up with a comment about the importance of solidarity between both remaining and laid-off employees! Nope.
“I know these types of tools engender strong feelings in people, but I’d be remiss in not trying to offer the best advice I can under the circumstances. I’ve been experimenting with ways to use LLM AI tools (like ChatGPT or Copilot) to help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss,” he continues. I’m sorry, what?
He then proceeded to list several ways that laid-off employees can use AI, including “career planning prompts,” “resume and LinkedIn help” and “emotional clarity and confidence” (i.e. reassurance for people “struggling with imposter syndrome”).
“No AI tool is a replacement for your voice or your lived experience. But at a time when mental energy is scarce, these tools can help get you unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity,” he concluded. “If this helps, feel free to share with others in your network. Stay kind, stay smart, stay connected.”
Naturally, this ridiculous response was met with scorn by fellow game developers, particularly on Bluesky, which no doubt led him to ultimately delete the LinkedIn post.
Turnbull’s baffling words follow a sadly frequent pattern of layoffs at Xbox in the wake of its US$69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. Since then, the company has laid off thousands of employees across its various divisions and closed Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks (which was subsequently acquired by South Korean publisher Krafton), Arkane Austin (Dishonored) and Halifax’s Alpha Dog (Mighty Doom).
It’s actually unclear how extensive this week’s cuts are because Microsoft has declined to give an exact number “out of respect” for the developers. (“Respect.”) Instead, many employees have been getting key updates from the likes of Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier and Windows Central while waiting to hear from Microsoft directly.
What we do know, though, is that the latest round of layoffs includes the shuttering of The Initiative, the developer behind Xbox’s Perfect Dark reboot (seven years after its founding and before it could even release a game), nearly 50 per cent of acclaimed Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 and about 10 per cent (or 200 people) at King (Candy Crush).
On top of that, Xbox cancelled the new fantasy game Everwild from Rare (Sea of Thieves) and Blackbird multiplayer title from ZeniMax Online Studios (The Elder Scrolls Online). Bloomberg even reported that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer tried out the latter game just a few months ago and absolutely loved it, yet that still didn’t stop him from axing it. To add particular insult to injury, Spencer — who has made no public statement on the layoffs — was spotted playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle around the time that the news broke, and a Bethesda employee who helped market the action-adventure game confirmed she was let go.
What makes Turnbull’s comments about AI especially tone-deaf is that they come as Microsoft is making major investments in AI. In the first three months of 2025 alone, the company spent over US$21 billion (about C$28.6 billion) on AI. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also controversially said earlier this year that the company will use its nascent “Muse” AI model in more game development projects.
But hey, you can always talk to AI if you’re feeling sad about layoffs!
Image credit: Xbox
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