Following the current announcement that Microsoft is shedding 1,900 staff throughout Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and Zenimax, Blizzard has additionally introduced that it’s canceling its beforehand introduced survival recreation. Matt Booty, head of Xbox Studios stated that “Blizzard is ending improvement on its survival recreation venture and will probably be shifting a number of the individuals engaged on it to certainly one of a number of promising new initiatives Blizzard has within the early phases of improvement.” The unnamed title, merely revealed because the “Unannounced Survival Recreation”, was announced to be in improvement on January 25, 2022. It was to be Blizzard’s new IP since Overwatch and it’s first survival recreation.
An inner memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer concerning the layoffs by way of The Verge:
It’s been somewhat over three months because the Activision, Blizzard, and King groups joined Microsoft. As we transfer ahead in 2024, the management of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is dedicated to aligning on a technique and an execution plan with a sustainable value construction that may help the entire of our rising enterprise. Collectively, we’ve set priorities, recognized areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the very best alternatives for progress.
As a part of this course of, we now have made the painful choice to cut back the dimensions of our gaming workforce by roughly 1900 roles out of the 22,000 individuals on our staff. The Gaming Management Staff and I are dedicated to navigating this course of as thoughtfully as attainable. The people who find themselves straight impacted by these reductions have all performed an essential half within the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox groups, and they need to be pleased with every thing they’ve completed right here. We’re grateful for the entire creativity, ardour and dedication they’ve dropped at our video games, our gamers and our colleagues. We’ll present our full help to those that are impacted through the transition, together with severance advantages knowledgeable by native employment legal guidelines. These whose roles will probably be impacted will probably be notified, and we ask that you just please deal with your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that’s according to our values.
Wanting forward, we’ll proceed to spend money on areas that may develop our enterprise and help our technique of bringing extra video games to extra gamers all over the world. Though it is a tough second for our staff, I’m as assured as ever in your potential to create and nurture the video games, tales and worlds that convey gamers collectively.
Phil
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