Microsoft to lay off 1,900 employees from Activision/Blizzard and Xbox this week. And while Microsoft is primarily laying off Activision/Blizzard employees, some Xbox and ZeniMax employees will also be affected by the cuts.
The layoffs represent approximately 8% of Microsoft’s gaming division, which has around 22,000 employees. The Verge has obtained an internal memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirming the layoffs:
“It has been just over three months since the teams from Activision, Blizzard, and King joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support our entire growing business. Together, we have established priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we are all aligned on the best growth opportunities,” it began.
“As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our game template by approximately 1,900 positions out of the 22,000 people on our team. The game management team and I are committed to carrying out this process with the utmost thoughtfulness,” he concluded.
And goodbye to the president of Blizzard
Alongside the layoffs, Blizzard’s president, Mike Ybarra, has decided to leave the company. “As many of you know, Mike previously spent over 20 years at Microsoft. Now that he has completed the acquisition as president of Blizzard, he has decided to leave the company,” says Microsoft’s Head of Gaming Studios, Matt Booty, in an internal note.
Microsoft plans to appoint a new president of Blizzard next week. Allen Adham, Blizzard’s chief designer, is also leaving the company. “As one of the co-founders of Blizzard, Allen has had a significant impact on all of Blizzard’s games. His influence will be felt in the coming years, both directly and indirectly, as Allen plans to continue mentoring young designers throughout the industry,” says Booty.
The previously announced Blizzard survival game has also been canceled as part of these changes. Booty states that Microsoft “will move some of the people working on it to one of several new and promising projects that Blizzard has in the early stages of development.”
Layoffs occur in the same month that Riot Games, Google, Discord, Twitch, Unity, and eBay, among others, have announced cuts.
