New details about Blizzard’s cancelled survival game have been revealed
Fresh details about Blizzard’s cancelled survival game have been revealed.
Mike Ybarra in gaming news
Microsoft Layoffs Include Xbox Physical Retail Teams
One area hit during the recent round of layoffs at Microsoft were the departments focused on bringing physical Xbox games to retail. On January 25, word began circulating that Microsoft Gaming was laying off a massive 1,900 employees from its 22,000-person team. A large portion of this number apparently is coming from the customer service group at newly acquired Activision Blizzard, which up till now was known for having relatively solid customer service.
Microsoft Layoffs Include Most of the Blizzard Customer Service Team
The recent layoffs across the various Microsoft studios include the vast majority of the customer service team at Blizzard. This means the multiple live service games run by Blizzard are currently operating with next to no moderators, game masters, and customer service representatives.
Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Include Shutdown of Physical Release Teams, Acti-Blizz User Support
Earlier this morning, Microsoft dropped a bomb, announcing the cutting of 1900 jobs from their Xbox and Activision Blizzard teams – nearly a 10th of their gaming division. It seems Blizzard was hit particularly hard by these layoffs, with president Mike Ybarra resigning and their upcoming survival game “Odyssey” being canceled. Well, we may now know a bit more about who was on the chopping block, and it’s not good news for those still holding onto the dream of physically owning their games.
Blizzard’s president and chief design officer are leaving, and its survival game has been cancelled
Blizzard’s president Mike Ybarra and its chief design officer Allen Adham are leaving the studio, which has also seen a previously announced survival game cancelled.
Microsoft is cutting 1,900 staff across Xbox, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard
Microsoft’s head of gaming has confirmed that 1,900 staff will be laid off across Activision Blizzard, Bethesda and Xbox.
Microsoft cuts 1,900 jobs at Activision Blizzard and Xbox, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra leaves the company, and the studio's survival game has been cancelled
As if 2023's historic volume of gaming layoffs wasn't enough, 2024 is starting in the exact same vein—studios including CI Games, Behaviour Interactive, and Riot Games have all let people go in January, and now it's Microsoft's turn. A message from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer to employees (via The Verge) says 1,900 employees are being laid off.
Xbox lays off 1,900 developers, cancels Blizzard’s survival game
Microsoft is laying off around 8% of its Gaming Workforce, affecting game developers across Xbox, ZeniMax Media, and the newly acquired Activision Blizzard.