Microsoft gets the axe – Almost 2000 employees fired at Blizzard Activision

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Microsoft doesn’t do things by halves and has fired almost 2000 employees three months after the purchase of Blizzard Activision

After the spectacular purchase of Blizzard Activision by software giant Microsoft, industry insiders were already expecting that the company would sooner or later turn things upside down at Blizzard Activision. However, the radical cuts that have now been made to the workforce far exceed the expectations of most experts.

Shock at Blizzard Activision

The news of the massive layoffs at Blizzard Activision reached the gaming community on January 25 and hit like a bomb

Although many experts were already expecting some employees to leave after Microsoft s 69 billion deal, many are still shocked by the large number.

Microsoft has fired a total of 1900 employees across various companies. In the case of Call of Duty developers, for example, the axe was applied to all five studios.

In addition to Treyarch and High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software have also been hit, with Modern Warfare 3 achieving fantastic sales figures despite some poor reviews.

As Tom Henderson reports, Sledgehammer Games is even said to have lost 30% of its entire workforce. Curious, as Microsoft only recently decided that the studio should be the main developer for the Call of Duty title planned for 2027

Branch-Trend

In addition, a previously unknown survival game project (code name: “Odyssey”), which had already been in development for six years, has been canceled. According to Insider-Gaming problems with the game engine are said to be the main reason for this.

As IGN reports, there is said to have been an internal memo from Phil Spencer to the staff in which the Microsoft entertainment boss addresses the employees and explains the reasons for what he describes as a “painful decision”.

On X, meanwhile, the posts from former employees thanking Blizzard Activision, complaining or simply looking for new jobs are piling up. Even high-ranking employees such as Blizzard CEO Mike Ybarra or Chief Design Officer and Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham left the company and thanked the company for the good times they had

The layoffs follow a trend within the gaming industry that has already become apparent in recent months. Other developers and publishers such as Ubisoft, Embracer, EA, Riot Games and Unity have also laid off employees, sometimes on a large scale, despite making huge profits, making headlines within the industry