Xbox has transferred UK studio Rare and ownership of the Halo franchise to Activision, proposed the closure of Ninja Theory, and confirmed another 268 role cuts, according to an Xbox Wire post published on the morning of September 22, 2026.

The announcement, titled "Continuing Our Reset," confirms what had been signaled by earlier reports of a second round of layoffs planned for this week. The restructuring touches three of Microsoft Gaming's most recognizable assets in a single move.

What changes for the studios?

Rare, the UK developer behind decades of Microsoft-published titles, now sits under Activision's organizational roof rather than Xbox's first-party structure. The Halo franchise moves with it — a shift that places Microsoft's flagship sci-fi IP under the publisher it acquired in 2023 for $68.7 billion.

Halo Studios, the internal team behind the franchise's mainline entries, is taking sweeping cuts as part of the same restructure. The Xbox Wire post did not specify how the 268 confirmed role reductions distribute across Halo Studios and other affected units.

Ninja Theory, the Cambridge-based studio behind Hellblade, faces the steepest outcome: proposed closure. The phrasing leaves a formal consultation or completion step before the studio shuts down entirely, but the direction is clear.

Why does this matter for the business?

The moves consolidate two marquee brands — Halo and Rare's development capacity — under Activision, the publishing unit Microsoft spent three years integrating after the 2023 acquisition. For teams, that means new reporting lines and new strategic owners for franchises that previously anchored Xbox's platform identity.

For the wider industry, the announcement marks a continuation of the reset Xbox leadership has described since 2024, when the company began multiplatform publishing, studio closures and significant headcount reductions across Microsoft Gaming.

The confirmed 268 roles cut come on top of the thousands already eliminated across Microsoft's gaming division in prior rounds, keeping pressure on the question of how Xbox balances first-party development capacity against its multiplatform publishing strategy.

What happens next?

Watch for the formal completion of Ninja Theory's closure process and any breakdown of where the 268 cuts land, alongside the first signals of how Activision plans to steward both Rare and the Halo franchise — starting with whatever publishing roadmap emerges from the newly consolidated structure.