Things are looking a little bleak for some of the employees over at publisher Activision Blizzard, according to a new report from Bloomberg. This news follows on the heels of Activision's major sale of the Destiny IP to Bungie, as well as harsh drop in stock over the past few months, nearly dropping by half since Fall 2018. The company is also dealing with a new CFO, Dennis Durkin, who replaced Mike Morhaime, who had held the position for nearly three decades. According to the information, Activision Blizzard will be restructuring, and as a result, "hundreds" of its 9,800 workers will be facing job cuts this Tuesday. Another industry titan, Electronic Arts saw stocks also plummet recently due to underperforming titles, though they quickly recovered after the launch of Apex Legends. This article will be updated when the official press report goes out later this week with more details.

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UPDATE

Tuesday has arrived, and the report was confirmed. Despite claiming that revenue for the company was at a record high in 2018, pulling in $7.26 billion, Activision Blizzard will be laying off about 800 of its workers. During the Q4 earnings report briefing, it was revealed that retail and microtransaction sales were on a higher than expected decline. Blizzard's CFO also announced that Blizzard has no major game releases set for 2019 outside of the mobile Diablo game, Diablo Immortal. "Several" console/PC projects are said to be in the pipeline, though we'll have to wait to see what those games could possibly be.

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[IncredulousP]

I suppose in a way that's nice of them, but really the employees shouldn't be getting fired at all. The people at the top should be taking paycuts and re-thinking the shitty direction they've been taking the company in recently. Instead they'll just release some low-level employees and remain entirely tone-deaf to their own fan base.

Of course, we live in a capitalist system, so naturally the top is prioritized over the rest. It's still important to note that it is a massive layoff, not firing. They aren't firing 800 people, that would be uber shitty. Instead, they are being regular shitty, as is the norm for capitalist corporations.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Nice reliable company. Beautiful place to work on.

 

[Chizko]

It's crazy how they approved this amount of layoffs. insane workplace

 

[SkittleDash]

I wish it were the 90s and early 2000s... Times were there was quality publishers with quality games. But it's 2019 and all they care about these days is money. It's sad really.

 

[Foxi4]

How can a company who's made literal billions of dollars justify the need to fire employees?

They don't need a justification. They're trimming the fat.

I wish it were the 90s and early 2000s... Times were there was quality publishers with quality games. But it's 2019 and all they care about these days is money. It's sad really.

in the 90's they said the same thing about the 80's. Business didn't change - you did.

 

[kuwanger]

How can a company who's made literal billions of dollars justify the need to fire employees?

The first step after any health revenue report is to fire everyone responsible for that healthy revenue. They've done their job and aren't need anymore. Of course, that's the death kiss for the longevity of the company, but who cares about that when you can coast along for 3-4 years and cross your fingers some other department in your company makes another great hit? Worst case, the company tanks and you get another executive job. Funny how being any sort of management in a company that tanks never seems to get you blacklisted from working in management ever again.

 

[Captain_N]

I suppose in a way that's nice of them, but really the employees shouldn't be getting fired at all. The people at the top should be taking pay cuts and re-thinking the shitty direction they've been taking the company in recently. Instead they'll just release some low-level employees and remain entirely tone-deaf to their own fan base.

Yep. Its the douches at the top that tell the developers what to make.

 

[The Catboy]

They don't need a justification. They're trimming the fat.

The first step after any health revenue report is to fire everyone responsible for that healthy revenue. They've done their job and aren't need anymore. Of course, that's the death kiss for the longevity of the company, but who cares about that when you can coast along for 3-4 years and cross your fingers some other department in your company makes another great hit? Worst case, the company tanks and you get another executive job. Funny how being any sort of management in a company that tanks never seems to get you blacklisted from working in management ever again.

Then fire the people who created the problem in the first place. The workers aren't the problem nor are they the fat, they are the heart of the company. A company can live without fatcats, but it can't live without the workers. There is no justification to firing workers when they aren't the problem

 

[Foxi4]

The first step after any health revenue report is to fire everyone responsible for that healthy revenue. They've done their job and aren't need anymore. Of course, that's the death kiss for the longevity of the company, but who cares about that when you can coast along for 3-4 years and cross your fingers some other department in your company makes another great hit? Worst case, the company tanks and you get another executive job. Funny how being any sort of management in a company that tanks never seems to get you blacklisted from working in management ever again.

Activision has been around since 1979, they're industry pioneers, whatever they're doing is clearly working. Very few companies from that era are still profitable and most are in fact defunct.

Then fire the people who created the problem in the first place. The workers aren't the problem nor are they the fat, they are the heart of the company. A company can live without fatcats, but it can't live without the workers. There is no justification to firing workers when they aren't the problem

The opposite is true in most industries. The lower the position in the chain the more replaceable it is and the less influential it is in terms of overall success or failure of a company. You are grossly overestimating the value of workers in an oversaturated industry, good industry veterans are hard to come by.

 

[Hells Malice]

RIP Blizzard

Never understood why they bent over for Activision in the first place. Worst decision that company ever made.

 

[The Catboy]

Activision has been around since 1979, they're industry pioneers, whatever they're doing is clearly working. Very few companies from that era are still profitable and most are in fact defunct.

The opposite is true in most industries. The lower the position in the chain the more replaceable it is and the less influential it is in terms of overall success or failure of a company. You are grossly overestimating the value of workers in an oversaturated industry, good industry veterans are hard to come by.

The people making this call aren't the ones making the games, they aren't the ones actually doing anything other than throwing money around and being the "face" of the company. They aren't like Iwata, taking pay cuts in order to keep their company going. They've had massive growth and continue to grow, but yet aren't actually doing anything to keep their workers. They are just firing workers so they continue to have rapid and unsustainable growth, which is bound to fail and cause more people to lose their jobs. These higher ups are going to be fine if they get fired, but those workers aren't going be ok.

 

[Foxi4]

The people making this call aren't the ones making the games, they aren't the ones actually doing anything other than throwing money around and being the "face" of the company. They aren't like Iwata, taking pay cuts in order to keep their company going. They've had massive growth and continue to grow, but yet aren't actually doing anything to keep their workers. They are just firing workers so they continue to have rapid and unsustainable growth, which is bound to fail and cause more people to lose their jobs. These higher ups are going to be fine if they get fired, but those workers aren't going be ok.

That's not a determination that you can make. Moreover, business tradition in Japan is very different than in the west. Efficient and effective managers are extremely hard to come by, interns are not. I highly doubt that they're firing lead designers, they're firing low level employees who fail to meet targets or have otherwise underwhelming performance which is perfectly normal, acceptable and encourages in any business. You're partially correct - the higher ups don't physically make the games. That's not their function - they're function is to create and maintain an environment that enables developers to make the games in a planned, efficient and profitable manner. Without those higher ups holding the whip over the employees no deadlines would ever be met. Their job is to generate productivity, and they clearly succeeded as the company filed record revenue in this fiscal year. I feel for all those who lost their jobs, but I don't fault the company for reducing unnecessary positions. They have no obligation to keep anyone employed in perpetuity and if certain members of staff failed to meet expectations, it is their responsibility to replace them with employees who can. It also doesn't matter what you think means "being okay" is, there's no magical upper limit to a person's earnings and their value is determined by demand, not arbitrary emotional appeals.

 

[kuwanger]

Activision has been around since 1979, they're industry pioneers, whatever they're doing is clearly working. Very few companies from that era are still profitable and most are in fact defunct.

Three things. One, read its history especially from Mediagenic on to see how they turned into effective a separate business.. Two, notice its slew of acquisitions and partnerships. Three, notice its slew of current and defunct studios.

So, yea, it knows how to do corporate mergers, buy up or sign up development of properties, and then to dump the "chaff" of former employees. Some companies learned how to do it directly. Other corporations just bought up the name (Atari). I can give them credit for still being around. I don't give them credit for their business practices.

I highly doubt that they're firing lead designers, they're firing low level employees who fail to meet targets or have otherwise underwhelming performance which is perfectly normal, acceptable and encourages in any business.

What you say is right. In the US, you engage in mass layoffs of the low end for failing to meeting sales expectations which were, of course, thrown around by the people at the top throwing money.

Their job is to generate productivity, and they clearly succeeded as the company filed record revenue in this fiscal year.

Maybe they should fire themselves for doing such a horrible job at calculating sales expectations? Clearly they're not "whipping" themselves enough if they're doing such a horrible job throwing money around and wasting it...or was it success because of record revenue. Which is it?

 

[XDel]

Should have rebooted Diablo 2 when they had the chance.

 

[Jayro]

Dear Blizzard, tell Activision to fuck off like Bungie did. Sincerely, gamers everywhere.

 

[gman666]

dO yOu GuYs NoT hAvE jObS?

On a serious note, it's kind of sad that Activision has destroyed the once great Blizzard. Hopefully, these people can find jobs that appreciate them more.

 

[TheRealNGB]

Someone should have told them you can't announce a Diablo mobile game unless a World of StarCraft announcement immediately follows, they have an instant cash cow that will sustain them another 15 years, and they practically wrote the blueprint for, all they have to do is make it and make subs count for both games, instead of trying to charge the same $15 a month for a game over a decade old.

Warcraft 3 Reforged is sort of a major release for 2019 so that is not completely true, yes its a remake but it did pioneer the world of esports, and still has a very loyal following.

I love blizzard, but there success with WOW gave them the idea that they could dominate any genre, and you just can't win them all.

 

[Mythical]

I'd pay for a Diablo II Remake Blizzard, Hell all I really want is better graphics maybe a ui update

 

[anhminh]

And US think it is justify to lower those rich bastard tax so they can have more money to hire more worker. Hilarious.

 

[Mythical]

And US think it is justify to lower those rich bastard tax so they can have more money to hire more worker. Hilarious.

uh what?