Xbox hollows out its studios while Halo passes to Activision

A sweeping restructure at Xbox has reshaped the company's studio landscape in dramatic fashion. Ninja Theory, the studio behind the Senua series, looks set to close entirely. Undead Labs, maker of State of Decay, is responding to what it describes as significant layoffs following its loss of independence from Xbox. The story director on Gears of War: E-Day was laid off just a week before the game's early access launch. And perhaps most symbolically, Activision will now handle Halo — a shift that Polygon is already calling the end of an era for the franchise. A fan-made infographic circulating online captures just how different the Xbox Game Studios roster now looks.

Bungie is having a markedly better day. After what's being described as a shock U-turn, the studio has reversed course on changes to Destiny 2, with players and creators celebrating and Bungie acknowledging that community voices made the difference. Separately, Blizzard confirmed that StarCraft won't be exclusive to Xbox, though declined to elaborate further — a notable data point given the broader consolidation happening across Microsoft's gaming arm.

GTA 6 continues to generate noise well ahead of its release: a $1 million billboard went up despite protests from local police, and NBA star Steven Adams has predicted a league-wide drop in athletic performance once the game launches. Diablo 5 surfaced with a detail about its approach to monster level scaling, promising a more noticeable sense of character progression than Diablo 4 offered. THQ Nordic is giving existing Epic Mickey: Rebrushed owners a free upgrade on Switch 2, while two near-perfect Lord of the Rings games are finally coming to that platform as well.