The organizational structure of Xbox has long been complex and unwieldy, and that hasn't changed after the latest wave of changes and layoffs as part of Xbox's "reset." But Microsoft's latest reshuffling of its studios and workforce does prompt the question of what the "Xbox Game Studios" brand even is now, with apparently only a few studios left under that banner.

The Xbox division (formerly named Microsoft Gaming) consists of Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media, and Activision Blizzard, but after some rearranging, Xbox Game Studios appears to only consist of the following companies: The Coalition (Gears of War), inXile Entertainment (Wasteland, Clockwork Revolution), and Playground Games (Forza Horizon, Fable).

Not included is Mojang, the Minecraft studio that Microsoft has been leaning heavily on, which now reports directly to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Former studios under the Xbox Game Studios brand include Rare and World's Edge, the developer of Age of Empires, but both now fall under Activision Blizzard. As the internal publisher shrinks and becomes deemphasized, the distinction of what makes an Xbox game an 'Xbox game' remains unclear.