Xbox Layoffs “Heavily Impact” The Accessibility Team, Too

A informacao chegou e merece atencao. As part of the 1,600 people being let go by Xbox during its big reset on July 6, it appears that the company's Accessibility division has been hit pretty heavily as well.

De acordo com informacoes, According to a now-deleted July 6 Bluesky post, a senior user researcher for accessibility at ZeniMax Media shared that they were caught in the blast zone, too. They also revealed that the "accessibility staff overall seems heavily impacted," with "multiple people on the Bethesda User Research Team" getting laid off. On LinkedIn, the researcher reshared a post by Zach Clothier, the accessibility test lead for the Microsoft gaming accessibility testing service, who announced his departure after nearly three years in his role.

It's unclear how many other people have been affected, but according to that now former ZeniMax Media senior researcher, it sounds like the team has been decimated amidst these layoffs. This comes during Disability Pride Month, which is supposed to honor the history, achievements, and experiences of the disability community. A Microsoft spokesperson told GameSpot over email that despite the restructuring, the company plans to continue its work in making gaming more accessible for all. "Accessibility remains a priority for Xbox," the spokesperson said. Siga acompanhando o blog pra mais atualizacoes.