Microsoft Gaming lays off 1,900 staff as Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra and chief design officer Allen Adham depart
Microsoft has laid off 1,900 employees from its gaming division—mainly roles at Activision Blizzard King, but also some at Xbox and ZeniMax Media.
With a total of 22,000 employees, the reduction accounts for eight percent of Microsoft Gaming’s workforce.
“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,” Microsoft Gaming CEO said in an internal memo obtained by The Verge. “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.”
Alongside the layoffs, Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra, and co-founder and chief design officer Allen Adham have both announced their decisions to leave the company.
In a message, Ybarra said “Having already spent 20-plus 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.”
In an internal memo, Microsoft Gaming Content and Studios president Matt Booty said, “As many of you know, Mike previously spent more than 20 years at Microsoft. Now that he has seen the acquisition through as Blizzard’s president, he has decided to leave the company.”
On Adham’s departure, Booty added, “As one of Blizzard’s cofounders, Allen has had a broad impact on all of Blizzard’s games. His influence will be felt for years to come, both directly and indirectly as Allen plans to continue mentoring young designers across the industry.”
Blizzard Entertainment’s unannounced survival game has also been cancelled. According to Booty, Blizzard Entertainment will be “shifting some of the people working on it to one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of
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