At the end of last month, id Software lead services programmer Chris Hayes offered a blunt appraisal of Xbox's management during an interview with YouTube channel Auf ein Bier, saying Microsoft's repeated mass layoffs have proved that its leadership "fundamentally don't understand art."
Elsewhere in the interview, Hayes expanded the scope of his criticism beyond the immediate damage wrought by the latest round of Xbox cuts. Looking at the industry more broadly, Hayes, who's still a Microsoft employee, says mass layoffs and nearsighted cost cutting are producing worse games, because they're denying game developers the opportunity—and motivation—to improve their craft.
