Xbox to introduce four office days near Redmond — The Verge

Starting February 1, 2027, Xbox will require employees in the Puget Sound region of the United States who live within a 50-mile commute of the Studio D office to work in the office at least four days a week. The rule will apply to employees living near Microsoft’s corporate campus in Redmond, Washington.

New requirements for Xbox employees

As The Verge reports, the change was outlined in an internal memo from Xbox Chief People Officer Jacinda Chee Chislum Pearson. She explained the decision by the need to create more opportunities for collaboration after receiving feedback from Xbox employees.

According to Pearson, thousands of Xbox employees live at a distance from which they can regularly travel to Redmond. Working in the office, she said, should make it easier to review work, solve problems, and make decisions without the need to schedule additional meetings.

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Exceptions will have to be submitted again

The four-day requirement will not apply to all Xbox studios: the memo indicates that their current office practices will remain in place. Employees who previously had exceptions to return-to-office rules for certain roles will have to resubmit requests for such exceptions.

Last year, Microsoft asked employees to work in the office three days a week. Pearson also stressed that commuting to the office should be justified by collaboration rather than spending the entire day on Teams calls from another building.

The changes were announced the day after reports that Microsoft may announce new layoffs at Xbox in October and November 2026, as well as in January 2027. In July, the company said it intended to cut about 20% of Xbox jobs by the end of the fiscal year in late June 2027.