Layoffs Hit Microsoft's Internal Original Content Team at Mixer
By Wyatt Fossett ·
No official statement has been made by the organization, but employees began celebrating their time and their coworkers on social media today.
Breaking on social media today by using the #Funemployment hashtag, multiple members of the internal Microsoft/Xbox team shared their love for their former team in the first public announcement that any layoffs had even happened.
According to some, the layoffs from the Inside Xbox team seem to have taken place prior to E3 2019 happening, so the entire thing has been pretty hush across the board.
Happy #funemployment day! Couldn’t ask for better people to celebrate with! #willproduceforfood @CapiTanceTV @scatterwits @Hnerskers @blacksuitsora @_depressio @GarthAvery @WatchMixer @LinkedIn @redrobinburgers pic.twitter.com/T0ffYgbFDs
— ?Kate? (@kateyeager) June 21, 2019
It's been a wild ride for the last year and a bit but my time as a producer at Mixer has come to an end. If anyone out there has any opportunities out there, DM me. I have a lot of really great friends in the same boat. pic.twitter.com/CJ9ihrNlrQ
— Joshua Hnosko (@Hnerskers) June 21, 2019
Welp folks, life is a rollercoaster. Found out today that I got the short end of the stick employment wise. Not sure what the future holds, but if you know of any opportunities that involve live production or community management, let me know! pic.twitter.com/566PhtoQlb
— Terrance Thomas Jr. (@CapiTanceTV) June 21, 2019
Not finding the right words rn, so I’m just going to say I’m incredibly grateful for my time with @WatchMixer and, more importantly, the family we built there. Considering no one’s died though (at least not yet) I guess this is more of an “I’ll see you around” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Qhg5Ynj1xb
— Tara May (@scatterwits) June 21, 2019
I will miss the hell out of the Mixer crew - genuinely couldn't have asked for a better team (well I could have but it would've been unreasonable to assume they'd staff the entire team with my favorite fictional characters and also Tom Hanks.) Keep the faith. #watchmixer
— Mara Baker (@_depressio) June 21, 2019
That’s a wrap! Thank you so much to the amazing field crew I had the pleasure to hang out with all week! The show was exhausting but amazing! #MixerE3 pic.twitter.com/QbTYVq40u3
— Garth Avery (@GarthAvery) June 13, 2019
With the level of talent on the original content team at Mixer, it’s very likely these folks will land on their feet real soon, but it’s never easy to hear about or report on layoffs in this industry.
Mixer Magic
For the past few years, many major companies (and some new ones) have been trying their hardest to get a piece of that Justin.tv / Twitch money. To get a piece of the pie from the biggest and best live-streaming platform on earth isn’t an easy task.
One of those large and impressive companies was Microsoft. They knew that they couldn’t just tee-up to bat at the same game as Twitch, so they dug deep into their development teams and came up with a very strong two-prong approach.
The first of the premier selling features of Mixer was the tech. At the time, it was the first major platform to offer almost zero delay between streamer and viewer, making for a huge flood of users and an ever-growing kinship. Mixer also provided some very unique and customizable viewer interaction tools that never quite took off, but remain very cool.
Their second major avenue used to separate from the herd was their original content team. It’s been a wild ride watching the weekly and daily Mixer ChannelOne shows grow, and get very good. Being a Microsoft product, Mixer would also be the premier place for all Xbox content. This propped up Mixer as the go-to platform to watch Xbox press conferences, fan-fests, and so much more.
Future of Mixer
It seems that the internal layoffs on the original content team are a strategic move for Microsoft and Mixer. According to some rumors, the future for Mixer is still very bright. The moves made these past few weeks behind the curtains are made with the goal of setting up more funding and support for partnered streamers and platform growth.
Twin Galaxies reached out to Mixer and Microsoft at the time of hearing the news, but we have received no communication regarding the layoffs. An update will be posted if a response is received.