It had been unclear on January 22, the day Microsoft introduced options to lay off five,000 staff, specifically which goods, teams and position capabilities had been reduce. The day after, it nonetheless is fairly murky.But it does appear that hints the firm;s Enjoyment & Devices (E&D) unit (Windows Mobile, Xbox, Zune) was impacted most heavily by the first round of layoffs. And it;s increasingly sounding like the games side of the house bore the brunt of the E&D cuts.Microsoft has closed completely its Aces Studio, the game group that developed and maintained Flight Simulator,
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional, sources close to the corporation confirmed. Aces; other franchises include Combat Flight Simulator and Train Simulator.GameSutra is reporting that the Aces Studio was affected heavily by yesterday;s corporate layoffs. I hear Aces isn;t just “damaged,” however it;s done. Aces will join the small but growing list of former Microsoft game studios, which includes Ensemble, Bungie and Digital Anvil, among others.I don;t have official confirmation from Microsoft on this. But that;s what I;m hearing, directly and indirectly, from various sources.Anyone out there have more details or specifics about other products/teams that are being eliminated as a result of Microsoft cuts?