William Goldman, the screenwriter of The Princess Bride, once said, “In Hollywood, no one knows anything.” Today, Microsoft is feeling that uncertainty as the software giant has announced they plan to lay off 18,000 people over the next 12 months. Over 12,000 employees in Microsoft’s Nokia division account for the vast majority of jobs affected but, according to Re/code, the company’s film production studio at Xbox Entertainment Studios will also close.
Xbox Entertainment Studios had barely gotten their original programming schedule off the ground before the closure notice came down. An app that included a comprehensive look at the Bonaroo musical festival was released in June while the studio’s first series, Every Street United, is currently airing and will conclude in August.
Some of the originally programming Microsoft had planned will continue even after the closure of Xbox Entertainment Studios. First and foremost, Halo: The Television Series and the Ridley Scott-produced Halo: Nightfall be released as scheduled. And with filming already finished, the documentary examination of Atari’s New Mexican landfill, Atari: Game Over, will also be completed.
The fate of the remaining projects in the studio’s “Xbox Originals” series is unknown, though it’s likely that many will be canceled. Sony still plans to move ahead with their own original programming initiative beginning with this Winter’s Powers.
