The details around the previously announced layoffs are coming to light.
We had reported earlier in September that Microsoft would be cutting 650 staffers from its games division. Now, the specifics of those layoffs are coming to light. According to the Los Angeles Times, nearly 400 employees will be laid off at Activision Blizzard's Irvine (140 workers), Santa Monica (110 workers), and Playa Vista (143 workers) facilities. The layoffs are centered around developers working on Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV. Playa Vista's layoffs will begin in November, while the other two locations are expected to see layoffs completed by the end of the year.
Xbox head Phil Spencer had described these layoffs as necessary to reduce so-called redundancies within the company following its $69-billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023. These layoffs in California are just the latest in a long, arduous year for workers in the video game industry. This news comes hot on the heels of Sony canceling Concord after less than two weeks on the market, and the seemingly poor sales of Star Wars Outlaws for Ubisoft. When will this hemorrhaging stop? At this point, it's not clear.
Source: Los Angeles Times
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