Ben Starr accuses Microsoft of lying after the Xbox cuts

On 11 July 2026 Ben Starr, who plays Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Clive in Final Fantasy XVI, went hard at Microsoft on the Pause for Thought podcast after the Xbox cuts.

The company had sold studio buyouts as protection for teams and wider creative freedom. The layoffs, Starr says, showed that picture did not hold. He now calls the line that consolidation was good for everyone false, even if it did not sound that way when the deals were made.

He also took apart the June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase. Senua 3 was announced there with a Game Pass release, while according to Game File Microsoft was already done funding the project itself and was looking for a buyer for Ninja Theory.

He does not pin it on one employee. For him it is the general tone of Xbox communication and marketing.