Our take on the impact of layoffs at Blizzard

Punctuated by Season 3 this week Diablo IV, the news came as a surprise this Thursday afternoon amid updates to two class builds. Indeed, Microsoft announced Retrenchment waveIts gaming arm has 8% of its workforce, or about 1,900 employees distributed between various ABK, Zenimax and Xbox studios.

Even if he takes such a decision was to be expected Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was finalized last October, the volume on the other hand more important than we can expect. As is often the case in this type of situation, there were marketing, community and technical support departments Very impressedBut once not customary, some development teams But it was affected.

The main concern for snowfall, The charge team of survival gamecodename odysseyof which The main part Thank you. As Matt Booty pointed out in his message to employees, some of its members have been replaced One of the other projects under development

On the blizzard, which may incidentally be of license Starcraft. The latter is regularly mentioned by Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it was decided to prefer it.

A world that remains unexplored

However, this is a decision most surprising. This title was in development for many years And there was the size of the team in question has increased significantly So that it falls into our hands. Mike Ybarra also announced his departure from the studio Tease the project regularly Since its official confirmation In early 2022. We will now remember with nostalgia the notebook with the letter O and the key that will no longer open any door.

Regarding other development teams, we note the departure of Some members Artistic and descriptive sections, especially on the side Diablo IV OrOverwatch 2. Holly Longdale confirmed that no roadmap World of Warcraft It remains the same which was announced a few weeks ago and Celestalon Reassured the players related to Hearthstone. However, we don’t know Full list of people affectedAnd it’s hard to get an accurate idea of ​​how these measures will affect content momentum over time.

With the departure of Blizzard’s president, let’s add Alan Adham, one of the studio’s founders, who returned in 2016 after a 12-year absence and has been part of the leadership since 2018. Heavily involved in new projects

Currently under development. That was about it One of the last historical pillars. A new president will be announced Next weekAnd I can’t wait to see who will take over the position, though with a hint of apprehension as to where it will come from, from an internal avalanche or directly from Microsoft.

“everything’s gonna be alright”

We also wonder what will be decided on this Battle.net app, the home of all Blizzard PC gamers. Its disappearance, hitherto unthinkable, is now felt In the realm of possibility, and I personally have no desire to be forced to do a Steam factory reset or use the Xbox app. Shelving Battle.net would be another counterintuitive move, and plans aren’t clear enough about it yet.

One thing is for sure, Microsoft has to deliver Positive signs Over the next few weeks and months, for both players, but most of all For developersThose who may remember Blizzard and Phil Spencer’s reassuring words during his visit to the opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2023. We’ll be sure to follow the evolution of the situation closely, but let’s wrap up this week A certain bitterness. Our thoughts are with all the developers. On the EMEA side, we don’t know for sure yet whether our contacts will be affected and fingers crossed that their status is maintained.