Xbox employees offered Microsoft's first-ever retirement program amid studio closures

A post circulating online is sparking conversation about Xbox and its recent closure of three studios, undoubtedly resulting in layoffs.

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The post is a screenshot of Egil Gloersen's LinkedIn announcement, in which he said that, after spending 20 years at Microsoft, 12 of those years on Team Xbox, he has decided to accept the "retirement program". The screenshot was shared by Destin, who wrote, "Xbox is apparently offering a 'Retirement Program' to employees." This isn't unusual for a company of Microsoft's size to do, and Microsoft itself outlined a plan to retire many of its senior staff with an offer that applied to roughly 8,750 employees, or approximately 7% of Microsoft's workforce.

This program, which dates back to May, 2026, was the first retirement plan in the company's history. According to a report, Microsoft offered employees whose years of service plus age totaled 70 or more. Those eligible were offered five years of healthcare coverage, a lump-sum severance payment, and six months of vesting for unvested stock options. The lump-sum cash payment depends on their position: mid-senior staff is offered a week of base pay for every 6 months of service, up to a maximum of 39 weeks.

However, senior Microsoft staffers were offered two weeks' pay for every six months of service, up to 39 weeks total. Notably, Microsoft said this program is expected to cost the company $900 million in its current quarter, which GeekWire reported is approximately a single day of revenue. Given this program is in effect at Microsoft, it makes sense Xbox employees have access to it as well.

This story is on the heels of Xbox closing three studios, most surprisingly Ninja Theory, developers of the Hellblade franchise. The announcement of the studio closure and negotiations beginning are only eight afters Ninja Theory unveiled the next game in the franchise "Senua" at the latest Xbox Games Showcase.