We’re not even one month into 2024 and it is already been one other brutal 12 months for employees within the online game business. Microsoft is the newest firm to announce a significant spherical of layoffs in its gaming division because it’s chopping round 1,900 employees from its Xbox, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax (aka Bethesda) groups. That brings the whole variety of online game layoffs this 12 months to round 6,000 already. There have been round 9,000 layoffs within the business in all of 2023, in keeping with some estimates.
“As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer instructed workers in a memo obtained by The Verge. “As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1,900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team.”
Nearly all of the cuts are stated to be inside Activision Blizzard, three months after Microsoft lastly closed its $68.7 billion takeover of the writer. Some positions on the Xbox and ZeniMax groups shall be affected too. The cuts equate to round eight % of Microsoft’s gaming division.
“The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here,” Spencer wrote. “We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws.”
Spencer added that Microsoft will “continue to invest in areas that will grow our business and support our strategy of bringing more games to more players around the world. Although this is a difficult moment for our team, I’m as confident as ever in your ability to create and nurture the games, stories and worlds that bring players together.”
Xbox confirmed to Engadget that Spencer despatched this memo to Microsoft workers on Thursday morning.
Amongst these leaving the corporate is Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who’s exiting of his personal accord. “I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players’ lives. It’s an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted — this is in no way a reflection on your amazing work,” Ybarra wrote on X.
“To the Blizzard community: I also want to let you all know today is my last day at Blizzard. Leading Blizzard through an incredible time and being part of the team, shaping it for the future ahead, was an absolute honor,” Ybarra continued. “Having already spent 20+ years at Microsoft and with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it’s time for me to (once again) become Blizzard’s biggest fan from the outside.” Microsoft’s sport content material and studios president Matt Booty instructed workers that the corporate plans to nominate a brand new Blizzard president subsequent week.
I wish to thank everybody who’s impacted as we speak for his or her significant contributions to their groups, to Blizzard, and to gamers’ lives. It’s an extremely exhausting day and my power and help shall be centered on all these wonderful people impacted – that is on no account a mirrored image…
— Mike Ybarra 🎄 (@Qwik) January 25, 2024
One different main consequence of this reorganization, in keeping with The Verge, is that Blizzard’s survival sport, codenamed Odyssey, has been cancelled. That may have marked Blizzard’s entry into a brand new style, but it surely didn’t reveal some other particulars concerning the challenge since asserting it two years in the past. Among the builders who have been engaged on the survival sport are being moved over to “one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of development,” Booty wrote.
Based on Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, Odyssey had been within the works for six years. Partway by way of improvement, Blizzard execs reportedly instructed the workforce to modify from making the sport in Unreal Engine to an in-house engine known as Synapse. Nevertheless, the tech was taking too lengthy to come back collectively. Regardless of constructive suggestions for early variations of the sport, it was going to take a number of extra years earlier than Odyssey can be completed. Ultimately, Activision Blizzard canceled the sport after reportedly figuring out that Synapse was not prepared for prime time.
Layoffs are commonplace following main mergers, particularly as soon as higher-ups pinpoint areas of overlap. Oftentimes, that is seen in positions on the company facet, comparable to advertising and human sources.
That is the biggest single slate of layoffs within the gaming business up to now this 12 months, outstripping the 1,800 employees that Unity is letting go. Twitch and Discord are additionally shedding a whole lot of individuals every. This week, Riot Video games stated it was decreasing its headcount by round 530 individuals. Lifeless by Daylight studio Behaviour Interactive, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland developer Misplaced Boys Interactive and Outriders maker Folks Can Fly are additionally among the many many gaming corporations to have carried out layoffs up to now in 2024.
Replace 1/25 3:59PM ET: Added extra particulars concerning the cancellation of Odyssey from Bloomberg‘s report.
