Not even a few months after the complement of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft announced more layoffs within its gaming division. According to an internal memo by Microsoft president Phil Spencer, around 1,900 employees of Microsoft’s Gaming division will be let go, mainly from Activision Blizzard. That said, Xbox and ZeniMax employees will also be affected.
“…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,” said Spencer.
“We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues.”
The reasoning for these layoffs are similar the other layoffs plaguing the industry as of late. In order to maintain a sustainable cost structure that can “maintain a growing business” these employees unfortunately have to go.
Other well known companies like Riot Games and Twitch are rethinking their business practices due to the after effects of the pandemic on the economy, poor returns from products and other investments falling short.
“Looking ahead, we’ll 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,” Spencer concluded.
Additionally, Microsoft also announced the departure of Blizzard president Mike Ybarra. According to Microsoft’s game content and studios president Matt Booty, Ybarra had decided it was time to take his leave after a two decade career with Microsoft.
Shortly after the announcement, Ybarra made a farewell post on his X/Twitter account thanking his coworkers and the general Blizzard community.
Booty announced more losses for Blizzard, including the departure of its chief design officer Allen Adham and the cancellation of its upcoming survival game, as Microsoft shifts it’s attention to other prominent projects in the works at Blizzard.
As 2024 goes on, the tech industry shows no signs of stopping its purge on workers.