One More Xbox Studio Managed To Go Independent After Layoff Wave

Published Jul 26, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT Kyle Gratton is an editor and writer based out of Kansas City. He received a bachelor's degree, dual majoring in English and History with a minor in Film and Media Studies, and has been a senior staff writer and reviewer for Screen Rant's Gaming section since 2021, with roles in editorial, and various freelance projects. A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptions of literature, and history. Find Kyle on Bluesky: kwg.bsky.social and Letterboxd: KyleG5 Xbox and the studios under its purview have been in flux after another massive round of layoffs, but another development house has managed to weather the storm and go independent. 1,600 Xbox employees have lost their jobs, with management planning on doubling that number over the course of the next year. Four major studios have either been sold off or become independent. Ninja Theory (Hellblade) and Undead Labs (State of Decay) have new owners, while Compulsion Games (South of Midnight) and Double Fine (Psychonauts) have reverted to indie studios. A fifth, Arkane Studios (Dishonored), will eventually meet one of those two fates as well, but a lesser known studio has also survived the carnage at Xbox. Alpha Dog Games has once again become independent. The change came miraculously after the studio was shut down by Microsoft in 2024, alongside an Arkane studio in Austin, Texas, and Tango Gameworks, which was later acquired by Krafton. Alpha Dog Games is perhaps best known for Mighty DOOM, a mobile roguelike spin-off of the iconic first-person shooter series. The studio specializes in mobile games, and has most recently been "updating key parts of the Unity-based game engine framework that Mighty Doom was built on," according to a statement given to Game Developer. Alpha Dog's founder, Shawn Woods, says it's not yet ready to discuss its next project, and appears to be currently in the process of acquiring funding, speaking with "partners, publishers, licensors, and more." Having been shuttered two years ago, it would seem that Alpha Dog's newfound independence is a result of Microsoft shedding Xbox properties, as Wood specifically mentions reacquiring "the name we put so much effort and pride into building." Prior to its ownership by Microsoft, Alpha Dog was a part of ZeniMax Media since 2019. It then became a part of Xbox after Microsoft bought out ZeniMax in 2021, a $7.5 billion acquisition that most notably included Bethesda, developer and publisher of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. (This astounding price would, of course, be surmounted by an order of magnitude when Xbox acquired Activison Blizzard two years later for $75.4 billion.) Alpha Dog Games is also responsible for creating MonstroCity: Rampage, Ninja Golf, and Wraithborne. It's a small victory in the incredibly sad saga of Xbox's decline, but a welcome one nonetheless. Since Alpha Dog was closed two years ago, it is not counted in the most recent layoff figures, which will eventually reach 3,200 from the Xbox division alone, unless some staff members had moved to another developer and were now laid off from there. Regardless, development studios surviving and gaining independence is one of the only silver linings of the recent Xbox layoffs, and here's hoping Arkane can make it through just like Alpha Dog Games has. Xbox Founded November 15, 2001 Owner Microsoft Known For Halo, Forza, Gears of War