World's Edge lost nearly half the team during Xbox reorganization

Former creative director Adam Isgreen wrote on ResetEra that World's Edge was reduced to "just under half" its size. He also said he was among those laid off.

The reporting places that staff reduction within a broader restructuring at Xbox, with World's Edge said to have moved under Activision.

What happened

World's Edge is the Xbox studio responsible for the Age of Empires franchise. According to reporting on the recent Xbox cuts, the studio lost nearly half its staff in the process. The claim does not come from an official press release from Microsoft, Xbox, or Activision, but from reporting that points back to a post by Adam Isgreen, the former creative director of World's Edge.

Isgreen wrote on ResetEra that the studio had been cut to "just under half" its size and that he was also among those laid off. The sources provided do not give an exact number, and there is no confirmed headcount before or after the reorganization. As a result, the wording in the reporting remains cautious: this is a reported reduction, not a company-published tally.

The reorganization is tied in the same reporting to a shift in which World's Edge came under Activision's control. The sources do not explain which teams, roles, or projects were affected. They also do not specify whether the change is temporary, administrative, or structural. What is clear is that the studio is being described as part of a broader Xbox reset, with multiple parts of the game organization being reshuffled.

The available information also does not mention any official response from Microsoft, Xbox, Activision, or World's Edge to the claim about the number of layoffs. That leaves the staff reduction dependent on Isgreen's post and the reporting built around it.

Background

World's Edge was publicly announced in 2019 as the dedicated Age of Empires studio within Xbox Game Studios. Xbox said at the time during X019 in London that the franchise was getting its own studio, making World's Edge the central development and coordination hub for the series inside Microsoft's game structure.

Since then, the studio has been involved in multiple Age of Empires projects, including the Definitive Editions and Age of Empires IV. The official Age of Empires studio page describes World's Edge as the Xbox Game Studio responsible for the franchise and also lists Age of Mythology: Retold as part of the studio's recent work. The current reporting is not about a new game announcement, but about layoffs and an internal reshuffle within Microsoft's game organization.

The context for the reporting is a broader Xbox reset affecting multiple studios and teams. In the provided sources, World's Edge is explicitly mentioned in connection with a move under Activision, but the exact organizational consequences are not spelled out. That means it is clear the studio is entering a new management structure, but not how that will affect day-to-day production, staffing, or project planning.

The available sources also show that the claim about the scale of the layoffs came mainly through a former leader. Adam Isgreen is identified in the reporting as the former creative director of World's Edge and as someone who was himself laid off. That makes his post relevant as a source for the staff reduction, but the provided information does not include any additional company statement confirming or clarifying the numbers.

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Sources

• Eurogamer: report on the Xbox cuts and World's Edge
• ResetEra: post by Adam Isgreen about the staff reduction
• Xbox News / X019: announcement of World's Edge as the Age of Empires studio