Company goes into restructuring after the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard; Dismissed are 3% of the games team
The company reported that layoffs will mainly affect corporate and supporting functions worldwide. In addition to recent layoffs, Microsoft had already cut 1,900 employees in January and closed four studios purchased before the purchase of Activision Blizzard, Call of Duty developer.
In a shared online memorandum, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, assured that no game, device, or studio will be canceled due to layoffs, which represent about 3% of the game team.
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The acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, which includes King (Candy Crush creator), and Zenimax (Bethesda, Fallout Developer), led Microsoft to realign its structure to ensure long-term success. Spencer expressed that the decision to cut jobs aims to adjust the team to the new priorities and the performance of the games.
- The game sector has faced waves of layoffs after investments and massive acquisitions during the pandemic.
- Companies like Sony, Riot Games and Epic also made significant cuts.
- Microsoft has been criticized for renowned studio closures such as Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks.
- However, the company continues to grow, with game recipes increasing thanks to the acquisition of Activivi-Blizzard, despite the drop in Xbox hardware sales.
Microsoft is expanding its software sales and has launched a series of future games, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The company has also faced criticism for increasing Game Pass prices and planning to launch some rival console games.
