MeinMMO demon Cortyn has clear words about Microsoft’s plans. Because Blizzard is going to suffer. Not in a few months, but even now.
Looking at the big companies in the gaming industry over the past few days feels strange. Apparently, companies are competing to see how they can most effectively ruin their public image. Sony says goodbye to disc games and drives, earning a massive backlash for it. Microsoft seems to have thought: We’ll push through our negative news in the slipstream.
3,200 employees across many companies are affected. Studios like the developers of The Elder Scrolls Online are losing half their workforce. My personal concern, Blizzard, is not affected so far.
An Atmosphere of Concern at Blizzard
My first thought was relief. Hearing that Blizzard is not fundamentally affected by the layoffs has provoked in me – the certainly somewhat stubborn – thought: Lucky me. The games that matter to me, such as World of Warcraft or Overwatch, are not affected.
But that is only half of what Microsoft intends. Because Blizzard will be affected by the restructuring, but only in the next 12 months.
When exactly? No one knows.
How many are affected exactly? No one knows either.
Whose job is still secure? No idea.
That is nothing less than an atmosphere of fear.
Journalist Jason Schreier has already confirmed that Blizzard employees have been told that the exact plans will only be revealed when they are affected:
Even though it seems good in the short term that Blizzard is initially not affected, I feel sorry for the employees who now have to worry about their jobs. But also, selfishly thought, this will surely have a noticeable impact on the quality and passion of the developers.
If you constantly have to think about whether you should apply for a new job or whether you can still pay the rent in three months, you simply don’t work with the same creative energy.
I know that some CEOs think that good work is created especially under pressure; I do not believe that. Especially not when the pressure is the uncertainty of whether you will still have a job tomorrow to maintain your standard of living or continue to support your family.
Apart from some mentally very oddly bent figures like Asmongold or Mark Kern, who are currently celebrating these layoffs as a “victory over wokeness” and literally rejoicing that thousands are losing their jobs, a large part of the gaming world is quite shocked by what is happening right now.
Yes, maybe it really wasn’t such a good idea to split the majority of the gaming market among 3 players who have become so large that they can no longer cope with it themselves. Nonetheless, this “Microsoft massacre” is currently a disgrace. Both for those who have already been laid off and for those whose layoffs have long been decided, but who now have to wait up to a year for clarity.
I can only hope that Blizzard will be only minimally affected by the restructuring and that we won’t lose any great games that have not yet been announced. Because especially personal projects are often the first to fall by the wayside during such “adjustments.” And it is precisely these personal projects that have made Blizzard’s games so unique for a long time. What is lost when developers of such personal projects leave can already be seen in the missing quests in World of Warcraft.
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!