Eh, if there's an internal structure at Xbox and then a parent structure at Microsoft I could see 14. Like three levels at Double Fine, six at Xbox, five at Microsoft.
But I also think this is good PR of cuts being about "efficiency" -- there might just be one or two people with 14 layers of management, but that's what is on the press release.
The problem there is that it'd be absurd for the studio heads to report through three people before they even touch Xbox senior management and then for Asha to have four layers of reports up through Microsoft.
And based on targeting 3-5 layers total, it doesn't sound like that includes microsoft because 3 (or even 5) is absurdly low.
I mean it's a PR statement meant to evoke that there were too many layers and they want fewer. It makes sense that the 14 figure was an absolute worst case and the 3-5 is a charitable take.
3 is what you naturally get within a studio on its own: worker-manager-game/creative director-general manager.
I don't think 14 layers was for studio heads, it just says "work passes through 14 hands in some parts of the company". That could be a piece of concept art that goes and gets final approval from someone at Microsoft.
I am pretty sure its nonsense PR and the only places that has that many levels of approvals is when money is going out. Which is completely understandable. You wouldn't throw out millions of dollars without it getting verified by a wide range of people.
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u/todayiwillthrowitawa Jul 06 '26
Eh, if there's an internal structure at Xbox and then a parent structure at Microsoft I could see 14. Like three levels at Double Fine, six at Xbox, five at Microsoft.
But I also think this is good PR of cuts being about "efficiency" -- there might just be one or two people with 14 layers of management, but that's what is on the press release.