Microsoft is starting this year like it did 2023. The multi-trillion tech giant joins CI Games, Behaviour Interactive, and Riot Games in letting go of employees to start the year.
As per The Verge, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, told employees the company is letting go of 1,900 employees from ZeniMax Media, Activision Blizzard, and Xbox.
With roughly 22,000 employees, Microsoft laid off 10% of its workforce and others are following their co-workers out of the door. In particular, Mike Ybarra announced on Twitter that he’ll return to becoming “Blizzard’s biggest fan from the outside” as he tenders his resignation from a role he has held since 2022.
Ironically, Ybarra’s resignation comes after he was reunited with his former employer. Ybarra spent more than two decades with Microsoft before joining Blizzard and was a crucial part of the success of the original Xbox and its successors, the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Along with Ybarra, Blizzard’s co-founder and chief design officer, Allen Adham, is also leaving the company, with Matt Booty, the Head of Xbox Game Studios, confirming the cancelation of Odyssey, Blizzard’s upcoming survival game.
Spencer claims that Microsoft made this decision after it “set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth.”
Xbox is fresh off a big 2023, buoyed by the commercial successful of Starfield, the continued excellence of Xbox Game Pass, and its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. 2024 is poised to be even bigger for Xbox, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, all part of its upcoming slate of exclusives for this year alone.
With the Game Pass expected to continue providing immense value to consumers, as evidenced by Palworld, things are looking up for Xbox.
Nevertheless, Microsoft’s decision to layoff a massive number of employees casts a dark cloud over the gaming industry as other companies are likely to follow suit.
