Microsoft is laying off 1900 people, or about 8% of its gaming division workforce, The Verge reported Thursday. The layoffs will largely affect people at Activision Blizzard, the company Microsoft just bought for nearly 69 billion dollars.
In a message to staff printed by The Verge, Phil Spencer noted that it's "been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft," followed by writing, "we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce." It looks like folks from ZeniMax, which Microsoft bought in 2021, and Xbox will also be affected.
Alongside the layoffs, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra is leaving the company, writing on Twitter that "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 seems to be leaving of his own accord, according to a memo cited by The Verge, and Ybarra tweets "with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it’s time for me to (once again) become Blizzard’s biggest fan from the outside."
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also left following the acquisition, stepping down at the end of 2023. Earlier that December, the newly-combined companies saw a slate of executive departures and restructuring, because I guess once you get high enough up the ladder, you get to engineer your own career moves instead of having people make them for you.
Spencer wrote that "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." So far that strategy seems to involve having less employees, a strategy favored this week/month/year by companies across gaming, tech, and journalism. Sorry to be bringing you bad news yet again.
Update 1:03pm: In a statement by the Communication Workers of America, the parent union of unionized workers at Microsoft-owned studios, "While CWA-represented members at Zenimax, Raven, and Blizzard Albany will not be impacted by these cuts, we are heartbroken that the lives of so many dedicated and talented video game workers will be disrupted."
