Ben Starr has accused Microsoft of communicating several “lies” in the lead-up to the mass layoffs. Xbox. The award-winning actor made the comments as part of a wider criticism of the strategy that led Xbox to its current predicament, with the company's own leadership admitting the business was “not healthy”.
On July 6, Xbox announced mass layoffs affecting 3,200 employees. About half of those roles were eliminated immediately, while the rest are planned to be cut in the company's current fiscal year, which ends in June 2027. The cuts will shrink Xbox's 15,000-person workforce by nearly 20%, marking not only the division's most significant reorganization to date but also the largest in the history of the ga industry.
It is now clear that integration is not a good thing, argues the actor
Final Fantasy 16 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Star Ben Starr condemned the Xbox layoffs during a recent appearance on the Pause for Thought podcast, accusing Microsoft of making numerous false claims in the years and even weeks before its historic workforce cuts. The actor traced the first of those claims to Microsoft's acquisition push in 2018 and 2019, arguing that the company introduced consolidation as a way to protect creative studios. “It may not have seemed like a lie at the time, but now it's starting to be a lie that integration is a good thing,” he said.
Starr asked viewers to revisit Microsoft's showcases from that period, which he said were marked by “hubris,” and reconsider the implicit promise that joining a large corporate parent would give developers the financial security to pursue ambitious projects. “Consolidation is a good thing. Consolidation is security,” he summed up the company's message before flatly rejecting it. “That's just not true.” For reference, 2018 is the period when Xbox went on a massive shopping spree to acquire Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment, and InXile Entertainment, kickstarting its game development push.
It may not have seemed like a lie at the time, but it is now known to be a lie that integration is a good thing.
Ben Starr criticizes dishonest Senua 3 announcement at Xbox Game Showcase 2026
The second issue highlighted by Starr during the podcast was more immediate. He criticized Xbox for making a third announcement using the June 2026 showcase Senua game from Ninja Theory and promote it as a Day One Xbox Game Pass release, despite having no intention of financing the project. His comments appeared to refer to a recent Game File report that claimed that Senua The announcement was made only to attract potential buyers for the developer. While Xbox later managed to find a buyer for the studio, Starr labeled the announcement as dishonest. “You had a hard time taking it [Senua reveal] Out?” he asked rhetorically. “What you're saying from the comms point of view is that we're willing to lie, so how much do I trust you if you ever go forward with that?” He added that the situation was not an “individual problem,” but a broader “marketing problem.”
Starr also criticized Microsoft for independently portraying Compulsion Games and Double Fine as positive developments. A “resetting Xbox” memo sent to employees on July 6 said the two studios would keep their intellectual property and game catalogs, while receiving enough financial support to begin work on their next projects. “It's amazing how they're trying to spin this,” Starr said, dismissing the company's move as “good news” because so many people he knows have been left in dire straits. “They're losing their jobs and they don't know why,” the actor said.
