The beginning of 2024 has been quite horrific for the gaming industry as we are getting news of more layoffs with each passing day. Quite recently, we saw Twitch, Discord, and other game/media organizations fire tons of employees. Unfortunately, Microsoft recently followed suit by laying off 1900 employees from Activision-Blizzard-King who had been working on various titles, including Overwatch 2 as well as a survival game that now stands canceled. While this layoff primarily includes Activision-Blizzard-King employees, there are some from Xbox and ZeniMax as well.
The Microsoft gaming division has around 22,000 employees and the company laid off more than 8% of it in this instance. Employees took to X to talk about their experiences and how they were affected by the shocking news.
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…
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) January 25, 2024
Blizzard Entertainment’s Mike Ybarra also took to his X account and talked about how grateful he was for the experience of working with Microsoft for 20+ years. The former President of Blizzard Entertainment thanked employees and the people associated with their games. Moreover, he claimed he knew exactly how big of a crisis the laid-off employees are going through at present, and even made himself available to people who might need his help. Readers should note that while some sources claimed Ybarra was also laid off by Microsoft, there are others who claim he left on his own accord.
Similarly, A lot of other employees talked about their love for what they do and how they adored working with a like-minded community at Blizzard. However, unlike the employees laid off by Riot recently, people on X rarely criticized the publisher and Microsoft. In fact, most had nothing but praise for their former company, even though they claimed it was quite tough to come to terms with the sudden layoffs.
I’m pretty fucking heartbroken, I loved my job so much, and I love Overwatch and I still can’t shake the feeling like I didn’t do enough. I’m going to miss everyone so much.
— Monika Lee (@MnikaLee) January 25, 2024
Countless other employees took to the social media platform to thank the teams they had been working with. They shared their experiences and how beautiful it was working on their respective games. Most of the people affected were working on the survival game that Blizzard wanted to release, but there are some Overwatch 2 developers, who also got the sack.
After over a decade in game dev, saying goodbye to Blizzard’s survival game – a career highlight. Grateful for the growth & team excellence. Excited for the next chapter and new opportunities ahead!#blizzardlayoffs #survival
— Patrick Gladys (@patrickgladys) January 25, 2024
In addition to Mike Ybarra and 1900 other employees, the Chief Design Officer, Allen Adham is also leaving the company. Meanwhile, Microsoft will announce the appointment for the president’s seat next week.
What is Activision Blizzard’s take on the layoffs?
Despite the layoffs, Activision is choosing to focus on its games to keep the community happy. In an internal memo shared with The Verge, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, confirms that the layoffs were a “painful” decision. Spencer also mentioned that the plan going forward would be to create a strategy and execute it while maintaining a sustainable cost structure that will help the business grow. Unfortunately, this cost structure eventually forced Microsoft to go ahead with the sudden layoffs.
Spencer also mentioned that the organization will help employees navigate the crisis and support them with severance pay and other perks. The plan ahead for Microsoft according to Phil Spencer is to invest in areas that grow the business while also giving players around the world access to more games. This layoff is the first step to Activision Blizzard starting a new chapter.
