Just three months after finishing the acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees in its gaming divisions. This is about 8.6% of the 22,000 Microsoft employees in gaming. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra also announced his resignation following the completion of the acquisition.
“I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players’ lives,” Ybarra said on X. “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 on your amazing work.”
According to an internal memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, the layoffs are part of “an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure” that “identified areas of overlap” after the acquisition. Microsoft confirmed the legitimacy of The Verge’s reported memo in an email to TechCrunch.
“We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws,” Spencer’s memo reads. “Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values.”
So far this year has proven to be a difficult one for the gaming industry. Other companies including League of Legends maker Riot Games, game engine Unity, Discord, and Twitch have also conducted layoffs, resulting in a total of approximately 5,600 gaming employees being laid off in 2024, which is more than half of all gaming layoffs from 2023.
Additionally, the rest of the tech industry has seen cuts from companies like Google, Amazon, TikTok, and others. However, according to data from tech layoffs in 2023, it seems that January is the most brutal month for layoffs.
Over the last few years, some departments within Microsoft and Activision have formed some of the first gaming unions in the country.
“With a union, employers are required to negotiate over the impact of layoffs,” the Communications Workers of America, which represents the unionized workers, told TechCrunch. “While CWA-represented members at Zenimax, Raven, and Blizzard Albany will not be impacted by these cuts, we are heartbroken that the lives of so many dedicated and talented video game workers will be disrupted.”
Updated, 1/25/24, 12:10 PM ET with comment from the CWA.
