Earlier this month, Microsoft laid off 4% of its workforce, roughly 9,100 employees across all departments including gaming. One of the studios that got hit hard was King, the developers behind Candy Crush, who lost 10% of its staff, about 200 jobs. Following the news, reports came to light that one of the main factors behind the layoffs was to shift focus with AI, Now, new report says that the King staff who were laid off were replaced with the AI tools that they helped build.
According to reports, the cuts that were made were mostly in middle management and UX and narrative copywriting. New details have been revealed. Many level design and user research staff plus practically half of the London-based Farm Heroes Saga team will be made redundant. Around 50 people, including some of the game’s leadership were put on gardening leave ahead of their departure in September.
The level designers, user research staff plus UX and narrative writers were told that they are also at risk. These employees have spent the last few years building and training AI tools to do their jobs. Sources say that they are now effectively being replaced.
“Most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they’ve spent months building tools to craft levels quicker,” said one staffer. “Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams. Similarly the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating.”
“The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting but it’s all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall,” they continued. “If we’re introducing more feedback loops then it’s crazy to remove the developers themselves, we need more hands and less leadership.”
Many employees are reportedly in limbo for the summer, unsure of whether or not their jobs will be cut as discussions continue between King leadership and the unions and staff across the offices.