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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View Essential Hardware PC Gaming Show Dune: Awakening Recommended reading Gaming Industry 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' X's latest terrible idea allows AI chatbots to propose community notes—you'll likely start seeing them in your feed later this month 'They don't really make life decisions without asking ChatGPT': OpenAI boss Sam Altman thinks young people turning to chatbots for life advice is 'cool' Gaming Industry 20 foolproof ways to get laid off in the videogame industry Intel introduces its newest employee, Chip the robotic inspector, just after announcing mass human layoffs Game Development Apex Legends writer gets laid off 24 hours after the character she wrote is revealed, because that's what the games industry in 2025 looks like Game Development Larian's Swen Vincke says AI-obsessed studios won't 'have a competitive advantage', because those tools are 'gonna be what's available to everybody' Gaming Industry Game Development Xbox exec suffers bout of terminal LinkedIn brain, suggests folks laid off by Microsoft use AI to 'reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss' Harvey Randall 4 July 2025 An avocado toast for a new era. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Warner Bros.) History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes—every so often, in times of deep economic equality, someone with a thick paycheck or accumulated wealth will waltz up and say something so mind-bogglingly disconnected from good sense and empathy that it becomes enshrined as an example of what not to say. The latest entrant to the "Let them eat cake" hall of fame comes courtesy of Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Games Studio Publishing who, in a since-deleted LinkedIn post (shared here by Necrosoft's Brandon Sheffield), suggested that anyone facing anxiety about their livelihoods crumbling under them use AI to help. Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing - after the Microsoft layoffs - suggesting on Linkedin that may maybe people who have been let go should turn to AI for help. He seriously thought posting this would be a good idea.— @brandon.insertcredit.com (@brandon.insertcredit.com.bsky.social) 2025-07-04T10:57:12.856Z He writes: "These are really challenging times, and if you're navigating a layoff or just preparing for one"—like the layoffs your company literally just pushed forward, Turnbull?—"You're not alone and you don't have to go it alone." Related Articles 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' X's latest terrible idea allows AI chatbots to propose community notes—you'll likely start seeing them in your feed later this month 'They don't really make life decisions without asking ChatGPT': OpenAI boss Sam Altman thinks young people turning to chatbots for life advice is 'cool' In a textbook use of passive voice, he then goes on to suggest people "use LLM AI tools (like ChatGPT or Copilot) to help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss", talking about layoffs as though it's an inevitable medical condition. He follows this up with a series of 'helpful' prompts for folks struggling after being laid off in random, often capricious ways. These include everything from asking a LLM to rewrite your resume, to networking and outreach, to emotional support. Turnbull suggests anyone feeling down in the dumps prompt a language model with the following: "I'm struggling with impostor syndrome after being laid off. Can you help me reframe this experience in a way that reminds me what I'm good at?" Yikes. Here is where I'd usually point out that telling the recently-jobless they're "not alone", then encouraging them to use an unthinking, unfeeling machine to output general positive platitudes is incredibly ghoulish. Unfortunately, I've hit my monthly limit for nonsense four days into July, so I'm going to go scream into a pillow for a couple of minutes. Phew, all better. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Alright, let's attempt a charitable read. It's entirely possible that Turnbull's had his head in the sand, does genuinely feel for those facing job insecurity, and simply got it wrong. He at least had enough self-awareness to delete his post. Points for basic self-improvement. On the other hand, given Microsoft's been pushing AI like it's the second coming of techno-Christ, and that the industry at-large has been struggling with haphazardly-applied AI tech booting people out of their positions and work to make the line go up (ever up, the line must never stop going), Turnbull might've self-reflected a little harder before he posted this rot. Anyway, given how quickly the pipeline goes from proselytizing about AI to finding out AI can't actually do the thing that's promised (around 4 months, for Netflix's former VP for GenAI games), I can't wait for this new, dark dimension of LinkedIn culture to peter out. If Turnbull's sudden 180 is any indication, we won't be waiting long. Probably. Hopefully. Please? 2025 games: This year's upcoming releases Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Harvey Randall Social Links Navigation Staff Writer Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' X's latest terrible idea allows AI chatbots to propose community notes—you'll likely start seeing them in your feed later this month 'They don't really make life decisions without asking ChatGPT': OpenAI boss Sam Altman thinks young people turning to chatbots for life advice is 'cool' 20 foolproof ways to get laid off in the videogame industry Intel introduces its newest employee, Chip the robotic inspector, just after announcing mass human layoffs Apex Legends writer gets laid off 24 hours after the character she wrote is revealed, because that's what the games industry in 2025 looks like Latest in Game Development Obsidian director Josh Sawyer says it's a 'mistake' for RPGs to sacrifice crunchy 'sweaty boy' systems in favour of a 'one size fits all' game, since easier difficulties aren't too hard to make Top-10 Steam game Bongo Cat is 'actually losing us money' says dev, which is fine because it's been great for business: 'Before, we knocked on 50 doors; now, they are coming to us' 'The problem isn't necessarily the yellow paint', says the Witcher 4 design lead, but its overuse: 'People see through the smoke and mirrors' 'We wish to express our deepest regret': Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs Helldivers 2 and Palworld devs wish players understood that 'easy' additions and updates are sometimes really hard: 'That's half a year's work. That takes six months' The Assassin's Creed Shadows delay worked out so well for Ubisoft its CEO decided, hey, let's do a couple more for the road—and save 100 million more euros while we're at it Latest in News Surprise! The Anthem servers are still running—but they won't be after January 12 Stop Killing Games surges past its goals, but a possible signature spoofing campaign could cause trouble: 'This is not a Change.org petition. This is a government process' Before cancelling ZeniMax's Destiny-style MMO shooter, Xbox executives reportedly enjoyed early demos so much that the controller had to be pulled from Phil Spencer's hands 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' MindsEye boss reportedly blames its failure on 'saboteurs' and says a re-launch is in the works, even as the entire development studio is at risk of layoff Brace yourself: Hades 2 just got what 'will likely be our final patch' before full release HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most Best 14-inch gaming laptop in 2025: The top compact gaming laptops I've held in these hands Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I've tested NZXT N7 Z890 review NZXT N9 X870E review NZXT N9 Z890 review Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review Razer Joro & Basilisk Mobile review PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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