Activision, Blizzard, Xbox, and More: Layoffs Continue in the Video Game Industry
Not even a month into the new year, gaming’s biggest trend, layoffs, continues as thousands are let go across multiple companies.
A devastating week for the games industry, as 2023’s most consistent trend (firing some 10-15% of your workforce) continues. Yesterday, Riot Games laid off 530 employees, around 11% of their workforce, and today Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision, Blizzard, and Xbox employees as the dust from the acquisition settles.
And they’re just the latest ones to do so. In the first few weeks of 2024, more than 5,000 game jobs have been let go. This ranges from big companies, like Microsoft, Unity, and Twitch, to smaller publishers as well. The latest news from Microsoft also sees a longtime Blizzard executive leaving the company.
Microsoft Lays Off 1,900 Activision Blizzard Employees, Cancels in-Development Game
Microsoft becomes the latest company to join the ongoing round of layoffs in gaming divisions. And it is gaming, specifically, that’s taking a hit, according to reporting from The Verge. Some 1,900 employees were laid off this morning, with the cuts primarily affecting staff at Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft acquired after lengthy legal battles, for almost $70 billion.
And though Activision Blizzard seems to be bearing the brunt, people were let go from ZeniMax and Xbox as well. In a memo, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Studios, said that it was refocusing the company, announcing that work on Blizzard’s untitled survival game, announced back in 2022 was ceasing as well:
“Today’s actions affect multiple teams within Blizzard, including development teams, shared service organizations, and corporate functions. As part of this focus, Blizzard is ending development on its survival game project and will be shifting some of the people working on it to one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of development.”
Microsoft is only the latest company to do so. Earlier this week, Riot Games announced “slowdowns” as part of their layoff of 530 employees. And while the layoffs are disheartening, it seems this trend will continue through the year, sadly.
2024 is already on track to outpace the estimated 6,000 or so gaming layoffs in 2023. At this rate, it’ll beat last year by the end of the month—if not the end of the week.
