Gears of War: E-Day story director Juan Vaca hit by Xbox layoffs on September 22, 2026

According to Kotaku, Juan Vaca, story director on Gears of War: E-Day, is among the employees impacted. Vaca reportedly said on LinkedIn and Bluesky that he is open to new opportunities.

Notably, Vaca said on September 17, 2026 that Gears of War: E-Day had gone gold, just four days before the layoffs were announced.

What happened

Xbox announced a new round of layoffs and studio changes across Microsoft’s gaming business on September 22, 2026. Kotaku წერს that more than 260 employees were affected. The report places the move within a broader restructuring of Microsoft’s game division, though no full list of studios or roles was provided in the available information.

The same report names Juan Vaca as one of the employees laid off. Vaca had worked at The Coalition, the studio behind Gears of War: E-Day, since 2022 and is said to have confirmed through his own posts that he was part of Microsoft’s layoffs. Kotaku says Vaca posted on LinkedIn and Bluesky that he is open to new opportunities, publicly confirming that he was caught up in the round.

Kotaku also reports that it was not clear at the time of publication how many other employees at The Coalition were affected. No complete studio or role list was shared in the available information, so it remains unclear whether the impact on The Coalition was limited to a small number of positions or reached further.

The timing stands out: according to Kotaku, Vaca posted on September 17, 2026 that Gears of War: E-Day had gone gold. Four days later, Xbox announced the new layoff round. That makes the news especially notable, since the game had already reached a major production milestone before the staffing changes became public.

Background

The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring within Microsoft’s game division. The available sources do not confirm how many people were affected per studio, nor what the consequences are for the schedule or production of Gears of War: E-Day. The information is limited to the report that more than 260 employees were affected and that studio changes were made.

For The Coalition, the main unknown is how many employees were impacted and whether the recent changes will affect the game’s continued development. Kotaku does note that Vaca had been with the studio since 2022, but provides no further breakdown of other roles or teams within The Coalition. Based on the available information, there is no confirmation yet of the scale of the impact on the studio as a whole.

There is also no concrete update from the source on delays, rescheduling, or content changes for Gears of War: E-Day itself. The only firm timing detail in the report is that Vaca said on September 17, 2026 that the game had gone gold, while Xbox announced the new layoff round four days later. That places the personnel changes very close to a major development milestone, but it does not say anything definitive about the project’s future status.

Related GAME-scanner articles

• Xbox cuts 268 jobs and puts Activision on the next Halo game
• Xbox reportedly preparing second layoff round and studio consolidation, says Eurogamer

Sources

• Kotaku: "Gears of War: E-Day story director laid off just four days after celebrating the game going gold"