Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: activision, activision blizzard, blizzard

Activision Blizzard Lays Off Almost 800 Employees

The news finally came down this afternoon after the worst kept secret at Activision Blizzard came out last week, as nearly 800 employees will be laid off. The layoffs appear to be targeted on a few specific non-game-development departments, which includes publishing and esports. The specific jobs and how they will affect operations in those areas moving forward has not been determined yet, but the last time the company cut employees to esports, Heroes of the Storm's program was shut down entirely. Kotaku got their hands on a letter that said the layoffs would affect 8% of the nearly 9,600 staff and would affect every company tied to them including Activision, Blizzard, and King.

"Over the last few years, many of our non-development teams expanded to support various needs," Blizzard president J. Allen Brack said in a note to staff around 1pm PT that was obtained by Kotaku. "Currently staffing levels on some teams are out of proportion with our current release slate. This means we need to scale down some areas of our organization. I'm sorry to share that we will be parting ways with some of our colleagues in the U.S. today. In our regional offices, we anticipate similar evaluations, subject to local requirements."

It appears those laid off will receive a comprehensive severance package, though it's not detailed what it could be. As well as continued health insurance, career coaching, and job placement assistance. According to other outlets, the company will also start refocusing their efforts on games like Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Diablo, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Warcraft. It's a dark day for the company, and there's a lot of discussion over what could have been done the past year. In the meantime, if you're a publisher looking for top talent in some key areas with the knowledge and experience of someone who worked for Activision Blizzard, you just got a golden opportunity to help someone out as well as your company.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!