Microsoft Layoffs Hit World’s Edge, With Just Under Half the Studio Let Go
Former creative director Adam Isgreen and senior software engineer Andrew Martz said they were among the employees affected, while Martz said the reorganization canceled the studio's next project.
Microsoft’s September 22 layoffs removed just under half of World’s Edge, and former senior software engineer Andrew Martz said the reorganization also canceled the Age of Empires studio’s next project. Creative director Adam Isgreen was among those laid off, ending his 16-year run at Microsoft.
In a LinkedIn post, Isgreen said he was disappointed by how his time with World’s Edge and Age of Empires ended. He also said he was proud of what the studio and its partners had accomplished with the series and of its role in bringing renewed attention to the real-time strategy genre. Isgreen added that he and many teammates had “some great plans for what’s next” and hoped the employees who remain could carry that work forward.
Isgreen separately wrote on ResetEra that “just under half the studio was let go.”
Just under half of World's Edge (Age of Empires) was laid off by Microsoft today
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Martz supplied the cancellation detail in a LinkedIn post, writing, “as part of that reorg, our next project was canceled and a large chunk of our studio was laid off. I was part of that layoff.” The two statements do not name the project.
Xbox’s September 22 reset statement said World’s Edge would move under Activision alongside Rare. The same restructuring placed Obsidian under Bethesda and merged Playground with Turn 10, extending the changes beyond a single team. The wider reset also included 268 additional job eliminations and a stated plan to cut 3,200 positions during the fiscal year.
Timing also put the layoffs alongside the scheduled September 22 launch of The Viking Sagas for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. The expansion adds three campaigns and three civilizations, as detailed in the campaign preview.
Adam Isgreen’s long RTS career
Isgreen began his strategy-game career at Westwood Studios, where he worked on the first Command & Conquer: Red Alert and remained from 1995 through 2003. He later worked on Star Wars: Empire at War at Petroglyph before joining Microsoft in 2010.
At Xbox, Isgreen served as creative director on projects including Killer Instinct, Crimson Dragon, D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die, and ReCore. He eventually helped lead Microsoft’s Age of Empires revival, working on several remasters and serving as creative director for 2021’s Age of Empires IV.
Isgreen has not announced his next role. He mentioned the possibility of returning to games, pursuing another kind of work, or making pinball machines, which he described as a format combining design, art, and engineering.
What would you want Microsoft to clarify about the canceled World’s Edge project and the future of Age of Empires? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
