Microsoft has barely taken over Activision Blizzard when job cuts in Microsoft's gaming areas begin. It has just been announced that Microsoft is cutting around 1,900 jobs in the areas of Activision Blizzard (acquired by Microsoft in 2023; important game titles: World of Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, Warcraft), Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax Media (Bethesda Softworks ; Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media in 2021; major game titles include The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Doom).
An email was leaked to US media by unnamed sources in which Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, informed employees of the layoffs. The gaming sector currently has around 22,000 jobs, of which 1,900 will be cut. With this, Microsoft wants to achieve an affordable cost structure, as Spencer stated in the email. The US IT news magazine Windowscentral has published the full text of the email here. The email says, among other things:
We will provide our full support to those affected during the transition, including severance payments in accordance with local labor laws. Those whose roles will be affected will be notified, and we ask that you treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion consistent with our values.
Phil Spencer, German translation of the original text published by Windowscentral
Microsoft had previously identified areas that would overlap. According to Spencer, the job cuts do not mean that Microsoft will no longer invest in the gaming areas.
Mike Ybarra, Blizzard's president, is also leaving the company, effective immediately. Ybarra shared his departure today via X/Twitter. Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham is also leaving the company.
It is still unknown whether Germany will also be affected by the job cuts. ZeniMax has a branch in Frankfurt.