Gaming IndustryMicrosoft gaming’s post-acquisition bloodletting continues as 650 more staff are set to be laid off for ‘sustainable future growth’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Gaming IndustryMicrosoft gaming’s post-acquisition bloodletting continues as 650 more staff are set to be laid off for ‘sustainable future growth’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft will soon, depending on when this latest round of layoffs are actioned, have let go over 2,500 total staff sincepurchasing Activision Blizzardfor $69 billion.
“I know that this is difficult news to hear,” Spencer continues, “We are deeply grateful for the contributions of our colleagues who are learning they are impacted. In the US, we’re supporting them with exit packages that include severance, extended healthcare, and outplacement services to help with their transition; outside the US packages will differ according to location.”
After stating that the cuts—again, 650 jobs’ worth of them—somehow make Microsoft’s “corporate and supporting teams and resources are aligned for sustainable future growth”, Spencer specifically mentions that “no games, devices or experiences are being cancelled and no studios are being closed as part of these adjustments today.”
Spencer finished his memo with further platitudes: “I know that going through more changes like this is hard, but even in the most trying times, this team has been able to come together and show one another care and kindness as we work to continue delivering for our players. We appreciate your support as we navigate these changes and we thank you for your compassion and respect for each other.”
It’s a particularly grim time for the industry writ large. From January 2023 to January 2024, over 16,000developers lost their jobs, a number that has only grown since. Restructuring, of course, isn’t unheard of, especially after large acquisitions—sometimes you’ll wind up with duplicate positions, particularly in central roles like the corporate and supporting ones mentioned here. Even if that’s the case, it’s an extra sting after the brutal beginning to the new Microsoft-owns-Blizzard world.
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I just can’t shake the feeling we’re thoroughly in ‘time is a flat circle’ territory, here. In terms of the wider games industry, the slowdisintegration of Embracer, bothConcordandSuicide Squadbleeding money, large-scale acquisitions and optimistic live service ventures leading to a rush to trim the fat… I hope, and doubt, that these aftershocks will be the last out of Microsoft for a while.
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