Activision Blizzard Layoffs to Cut 400 Jobs
Activision Blizzard, the gaming powerhouse behind titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, is set to lay off around 400 employees across its Southern California offices. LA Times reported.
These cuts, which begin October 11, are part of Microsoft’s wider plan to streamline its gaming division after its $69 billion acquisition of Activision last year.
The job cuts will hit the company’s Irvine and Santa Monica locations first, with 140 and 110 employees, respectively, facing layoffs.
In November, the Playa Vista location will also be affected, cutting an additional 143 jobs before year’s end.
The layoffs target roles in corporate and support functions, including IT, HR, and recruiting. Mobile game teams, particularly those working on struggling titles like Warcraft Rumble, are also feeling the pinch.
While the move is being framed as part of Microsoft’s effort to “align post-acquisition team structures” and reduce redundancy, it's hard to ignore the timing.
With mobile game sales dipping and competition heating up, this might be Microsoft’s way of trimming the fat.
- And yes, you don’t need two designers for every virtual sword or spell in Warzone, but still, 400 people? That’s like half the raid party!
These cuts are the latest in a string of layoffs following Microsoft's acquisition, bringing the total number of lost jobs in the past year to over 1,900.
As the 2024 layoffs at Activision Blizzard roll out, employees and industry insiders are left wondering: is this just the first level of a bigger game, or is this endgame for many in Southern California’s gaming sector?
Time to grab some power-ups, folks – things are about to get tricky as more and more companies are doing massive layoffs in 2024 and that's mostly because of the rise of the AI.
