US media reports that months after the completion of the Activision-Blizzard deal, Microsoft has laid off 1,900 employees from the gaming sector.
This is the news: According to reports, Microsoft has laid off 1,900 employees who were previously working in the company’s gaming sector. It is said to have specifically affected employees who worked for Activision-Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax.
In an interview with the US magazine The Verge, Xbox chief Phil Spencer stated that the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to developing a “joint strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure.”
As a result of the resulting process, the company has made the decision to lay off 1,900 employees in the gaming sector.
As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce our number of employees in the gaming sector by about 1,900 out of a total of 22,000 employees. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to making this process as thoughtful as possible. The employees directly affected by these cuts have all played a critical role in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they have achieved here.
Phil Spencer via The Verge
In addition to Activision-Blizzard and Xbox employees, ZeniMax has also been affected. ZeniMax Media is, among other things, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Starfield), Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Deathloop, Arkane), and MachineGames (Wolfenstein: The New Order).
The latter studio, MachineGames has recently introduced a new game called “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle”, which is set to be released in 2024 and makes the film hero Indiana Jones the protagonist.
The head of Blizzard is also out
As industry insiders and Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier reported on X.com (formerly Twitter), Mike Ybarra is also leaving the company.
Ybarra has been the president of Blizzard since August 2022. Prior to his time at Blizzard, Ybarra worked at Microsoft for 19 years and contributed to projects such as Age of Empires Online and Sunset Overdrive.
For fans of Blizzard games, Ybarra’s departure is likely a significant shock. Especially, as there was some hope recently when Xbox chief Phil Spencer said exactly what Blizzard fans wanted to hear in October 2023 after the purchase of Activision-Blizzard: Xbox chief says all the right things Blizzard fans want to hear after big acquisition
