Microsoft Is Laying Off 1900 Employees Across Xbox, Activision Blizzard, And ZeniMax

Update, 9:51 a.m. ET, 1/25/24:

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier is reporting that Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra «is also out» as part of Microsoft's 1,900 job cuts across its various gaming divisions. Ybarra has worked at Blizzard since 2019, first as executive vice president and general manager of platform and technology before becoming president of the company in 2021. Before that, he worked for Microsoft for more than 19 years in various positions like corporate vice president of Xbox Live and Game Pass and partner studio manager for Xbox Studios. 

Schreier is also reporting that Allen Adham, chief design officer and Blizzard founder is leaving the company following these layoffs, and that Odyssey, the studio's in-development survival game, has been canceled. 

Other Blizzard news:
— Allen Adham, chief design officer and the company's founder, is leaving the company
— Odyssey, the survival game that has been in development for 6+ years, is canceled

The original story continues below...

Original story, 9:43 a.m. ET, 1/25/24:

Microsoft is laying off roughly 1,900 employees across its Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax teams. This news comes by way of IGN, which has learned from sources that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer sent a memo to staff explaining the layoffs.

Spencer cites the need to align strategy with a sustainable cost structure. Notably, Microsoft spent $69 billion in October to acquire Call of Duty and Overwatch maker Activision Blizzard, and it spent $7.5 billion in 2020 to acquire ZeniMax Media. 

Here's Spencer's memo to staff in full, from IGN: 

These job cuts come just a week after Xbox's 2024 Developer Direct showcase, which is where we learned Senua's Saga: Hellblade II will be released in May, what the first-person combat in Obsidian's Avowed looks like, and that Square Enix's Visions of Mana hits PlayStation, Xbox, and PC this summer. We also got our first look at Ara: History Untold, and the first taste of gameplay