Microsoft cuts 1,900 jobs in gaming, including at Activision
BNN Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. will lay off 1,900 people across its video-game divisions including at Activision Blizzard, which it purchased for US$69 billion in an acquisition that closed late last year.
In an email to staff reviewed by Bloomberg, Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer wrote that the cuts represented about eight per cent of Microsoft’s 22,000 gaming workers. The Verge first reported the news. Other video game companies, including Riot Games, have also enacted mass layoffs.
“Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth,” Spencer wrote.
Blizzard Entertainment is also making big changes as part of the cuts, cancelling a survival game codenamed Odyssey and parting ways with President Mike Ybarra and Chief Design Officer Allen Adham, the company’s co-founder.
