Microsoft Corp. will lay off 1,900 people across its video-game divisions including at Activision Blizzard, which it purchased for $69 billion in an acquisition that closed late last year.
In an email to staff reviewed via Bloomberg, Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer wrote that the cuts accounted for about 8% of Microsoft’s 22,000 gaming workers. The Verge was the first to report the news. Other video game companies, including Riot Games, have also carried out mass layoffs.
“Together, we set priorities, recognized overlapping spaces, and made sure we were all aligned on growth opportunities,” Spencer wrote.
Blizzard Entertainment is also making big adjustments as part of those cuts, canceling a survival game called Odyssey and collaborating with president Mike Ybarra and design director Allen Adham, the company’s co-founder.
In a memo to staff, Microsoft Studios president Matt Booty said Ybarra “has to leave the company. “At BlizzCon in November, Ybarra said in an interview that he needs to stay with the company for the long haul. “Somebody’s going to catch me out of Blizzard,” he said. That’s how long I’ll stay here. “
On Thursday, Ybarra announced his departure in a post on X, Twitter’s former site. “Having spent more than 20 years at Microsoft and with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it’s time for me to (once again) become Blizzard’s biggest exit. door fan,” Ybarra wrote.
More than 60 other technology companies, in addition to Amazon. com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. have laid off about 11,000 workers this year, according to Layoffs. fyi, which tracks job cuts in the generation sector.
These moves come just 3 months after Microsoft finalized its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In an email reviewed via Bloomberg, Activision Publishing head Rob Kostich wrote that the cuts were made “to reset and realign our resources for the future. “
Next week, on January 30, Microsoft will release its quarterly results.