Blizzard layoffs are reportedly imminent, days after an exciting BlizzCon and a seemingly popular World of Warcraft: Forever beta
UPDATE 4PM BST: Game Developer has reportedly seen an email Blizzard sent to employees that indicates it - or at least the World of Warcraft department - isn't affected by "today's announcements".
UPDATE 4PM BST: Game Developer has reportedly seen an email Blizzard sent to employees that indicates it - or at least the World of Warcraft department - isn't affected by "today's announcements".
The short version
- An Xbox representative apparently verified the email's legitimacy.
- UPDATE 3.30PM BST: Blizzard does not appear to be included in the latest wave of Xbox layoffs, which have seen 268 job losses and studios either closed, drastically downsized, or merged with other studios.
- As part of the cuts, British studio Ninja Theory has closed , Halo Studios has been downsized and Halo development handed to Activision , Obsidian has become a part of Bethesda, and Playground and Turn 10 have come together as one studio.
What happened
Rare is also now a part of Activision. ORIGINAL STORY 1PM BST: A week after an announcement-laden BlizzCon 2026, and days after what appears to be an enormously popular beta for World of Warcraft: Forever , cuts at Blizzard by Xbox are said to be "imminent".
Why it matters
Word comes from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who previously wrote a detailed book about Blizzard's history based on numerous contacts there.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Eurogamer via the links above and below.