Ben Starr has accused Microsoft of communicating multiple “lies” in the lead-up to the mass layoffs at Xbox. The award-winning actor made the remarks as part of a broader criticism of the strategy that led Xbox to its current predicament, with the company’s own leadership acknowledging that the business is “not healthy.”
On July 6, Xbox announced mass layoffs affecting 3,200 employees. About half of those roles were eliminated immediately, while the remainder are planned to be cut during the company’s current fiscal year, which ends in June 2027. The reductions will shrink Xbox’s 15,000-person workforce by about 20%, marking not just the division’s most significant restructuring to date but also by far the largest wave of layoffs in gaming industry history.
It’s Now Clear That Consolidation Is Not a Good Thing, the Actor Argues
Final Fantasy 16 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 star Ben Starr denounced the Xbox layoffs during a recent appearance on the Pause for Thought podcast, accusing Microsoft of making several 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 presented consolidation as a way to protect creative studios. “It might not have seemed like a lie at the time, but it is now known to be a lie that consolidation is a good thing,” he said.
Starr urged viewers to revisit Microsoft’s showcases from that period, which he said were marked by “hubris,” and reconsider the implied promise that joining a larger corporate parent would give developers the financial security to pursue ambitious projects. “Consolidation is a good thing. Consolidation is protection,” he said, summarizing the company’s message before rejecting it outright. “It’s just not true.” For context, 2018 period is when Xbox went on a huge shopping spree kickstarting its game development push, acquiring Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment, and inXile Entertainment—in that order.
It might not have seemed like a lie at the time, but it is now known to be a lie that consolidation is a good thing.
Ben Starr Criticizes Dishonest Senua 3 Announcement at Xbox Games Showcase 2026
The second issue Starr highlighted during the podcast was more immediate. He criticized Xbox for using its June 2026 showcase to announce a third 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 remark appeared to reference a recent Game File report claiming that Senua was announced solely to attract potential buyers for the developer. While Xbox subsequently said it indeed managed to find a buyer for the studio, Starr labeled the announcement itself as dishonest. “Was it so difficult for you to take that [Senua reveal] out?” he asked rhetorically. “What you have said from a comms perspective is that we are willing to lie, so how much do I trust you if you ever go in front of that?” He added that the situation was not “an individual’s problem,” but a broader “marketing problem.”
Starr also criticized Microsoft for portraying Compulsion Games and Double Fine becoming independent as a positive development. The “Resetting Xbox” memo sent to employees on July 6 said the two studios would retain 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 it,” Starr said, rejecting the company’s framing of the moves as “good news” because many people he knows have been left in difficult circumstances. “They’re losing their jobs and they don’t know why,” the actor said.
