Microsoft’s Gaming Division is Cutting 1,900 Jobs
2023 was a brutal year for the games industry with its never-ending wave of layoffs, but 2024 is somehow turning out to be significantly worse. Less than a month into the year, the industry has already seen thousands of jobs being cut, and another significant number has now been added to that total, with IGN reporting that Microsoft’s gaming division is cutting 1,900 jobs out of its total workforce of about 22,000.
In an internal memo sent out to employees, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said the layoffs come as a result of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard looking to “align on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure”, as a result of which jobs will be made redundant across Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax.
“It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft,” Spencer’s memo reads. “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
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