Just months after Microsoft announced its successful acquisition of Activision Blizzard to bolster its Xbox and PC lineup, Microsoft announced this week plans to layoff around 1,900 employees from its gaming teams. A statement shared by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer told employees that the layoffs were a “painful decision” and that those impacted by the layoffs would be supported during their transition. In the same day amid these layoffs, Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra also announced that he’d be leaving the company.
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Microsoft has not yet shared its announcement publicly, but it has shared news of the layoffs internally with its employees, according to IGN. The memo from Spencer obtained by the outlet can be seen in full below.
Phil Spencer’s Memo to Employees Regarding Layoffs
“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 1,900 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.”
Mike Ybarra Leaves Blizzard
Shortly after news broke about the layoffs, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra confirmed his departure from the company. Prior to leading Blizzard, Ybarra was Xbox’s corporate vice president for years before heading to Blizzard which was then acquired by Microsoft.
“To the Blizzard community: I also want to let you all know today is my last day at Blizzard. Leading Blizzard through an incredible time and being part of the team, shaping it for the future ahead, was an absolute honor. Having already spent 20+ years at Microsoft and with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it’s time for me to (once again) become Blizzard’s biggest fan from the outside.”
The layoffs within Microsoft’s gaming teams continue an unfortunate trend of layoffs affecting other gaming companies in just January alone. Riot Games just recently announced a round of layoffs, for example, with even more seen outside of January such as layoffs at Wizards of the Coast in December.
