Toys for Bob is the latest Microsoft owned studio to be hit with layoffs. According to state filings obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, 86 employees will be let go, and the company’s headquarters will be closing. In a 2021 article from Game Rant, the studio’s size was estimated to be 180 employees. Seasoned Gaming editor-in-chief Ains has confirmed on Twitter that the studio will not be closing down; instead it seems that the rest of the employee’s will be transitioning to remote work.ย
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Toys for Bob was acquired by Microsoft as part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition last year. The studio was founded in 1989, and was owned first by Crystal Dynamics, before becoming part of Activision Blizzard in 2005. There, the studio created the highly-successful Skylanders franchise, which featured Spyro the Dragon in a key role and also utilized Crash Bandicoot. As the toys-to-life bubble burst, Toys for Bob continued to work with both Spyro and Crash, most notably in Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.ย
Over the last few years, Activision Blizzard had been increasingly leaning on Toys for Bob as a support studio for the Call of Duty franchise. When Activision Blizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft was first announced, it led to many fans hoping that Toys for Bob would end up developing a new entry in the Banjo-Kazooie series. At this time, it’s unclear what will come next for the developer.ย
Layoffs at Activision Blizzard
Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard was closed last October. News of the layoffs at Toys for Bob comes just weeks after Microsoft announced 1,900 layoffs from its gaming teams. That news has led to a complaint filed by the FTC to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The FTC is arguing that the announcement “contradicts Microsoft’s representations in this hearing,” and has requested a temporary pause on the acquisition as a result. At this time, it’s unclear whether that filing will have any impact.ย
Video Game Industry Layoffs and Studio Closures
The layoffs at Toys for Bob come at a turbulent time in the video game industry. Over the last 12 months, there have been layoffs at countless studios, including companies like Bungie, Crystal Dynamics, Telltale, and Epic Games. In addition to those layoffs, several studios have been closed altogether, including Volition and Free Radical Design. While many of these layoffs have come about as a result of restructuring plans, others are a direct result of acquisitions made by companies like Microsoft and Embracer Group.ย
These layoffs have led to a lot of frustration from employees within the video game industry. Overall profits remain high, yet so many people remain uncertain about the next round of layoffs, and whether they’ll have to find a new place of employment.
Are you disappointed to hear about the layoffs at Toys for Bob? Would you like to see a new Banjo-Kazooie game from the studio? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachampย or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: The Verge]
