Microsoft has announced a new series of layoffs across its gaming division. The company is about to let go of roughly 1,900 employees, most of whom work at Activision Blizzard, which was purchased by Microsoft in October 2023 for almost $69 billion after months of regulatory struggle. Although Activision Blizzard is affected the most, Microsoft will also lay off some workers from ZeniMax and Xbox.
Microsoft"s decision to cut 1,900 positions from its gaming division, which has about 22,000 members, comes one year after the latest big round of layoffs. In January 2023, Microsoft announced plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 employees. It also coincides with the recent Xbox management shift and Microsoft reaching an all-time high market cap of $3 trillion.
Here is the internal memo Phil Spencer shared with Microsoft Gaming employees about the latest layoffs (via The Verge):
It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth.
As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. 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.
Looking ahead, we’ll continue to invest in areas that will grow our business and support our strategy of bringing more games to more players around the world. Although this is a difficult moment for our team, I’m as confident as ever in your ability to create and nurture the games, stories and worlds that bring players together.
Phil
Mike Ybarra, a Microsoft veteran with over 20 years of experience working in Microsoft, is also leaving Activision Blizzard after moving from the software giant to ABK in November 2019. Microsoft will name a new Activision Blizzard president in the upcoming days.