Welcome to January 2024.
According to IGN, Microsoft plans to lay off 1900 employees from their video game division. If true, this will make a total of 5,800 layoffs across the industry this month alone.
In the memo by Phil Spencer that IGN claims to have seen, the Xbox head states that while the decision to do so is difficult, the company has decided to this large number of unspecified jobs from their gaming workforce. The good news, if there is any for those affected, is that Microsoft will provide “full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws.”
The full body of the memo, as it is rendered on IGN, below:
It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth.
As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1,900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. 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. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values.
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.
Phil.
In addition, Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra announced his departure from the company alongside these layoffs. A former Xbox executive, Ybarra joined Blizzard in 2019.
Ybarra’s statement on the matter, as written on Xwitter.
I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players’ lives. It’s an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted – this is in no way a reflection on your amazing work. If there’s anything I can help with, connections, recommendations, etc., DM me.
To the Blizzard community: I also want to let you all know today is my last day at Blizzard. Leading Blizzard through an incredible time and being part of the team, shaping it for the future ahead, was an absolute honor. Having already spent 20+ years at Microsoft and with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it’s time for me to (once again) become Blizzard’s biggest fan from the outside.
To the incredible teams at Blizzard – thank you. Words can’t express how I feel about all of you. You are amazing. Continue to do incredible things and always keep Blizzard blue and the player at the forefront of every decision.
To all of those impacted today – I am always available to you and understand how challenging today’s news is. My heart is with each one of you.
Mike Ybarra
Blizzard’s chief design officer and co-founder Allen Adham has also left the company. And simultaneously with all of this, it seems that the long-in-development survival game that Blizzard was working on has been cancelled. This news seems to be coming from former employees that were working on the game, up until these layoffs happened; the entire team working on the game in question seems to have been let go.
It’s not surprising, however, to see such layoffs after a large merger like that between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. Though, typically, the cuts come from redundant positions, like those in marketing and sales.
Source: VG 24/7
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