Microsoft cuts 1,900

Good Evening. Not going to Coachella this year? Nintendo is streaming two concerts next month on their YouTube channel - The Zelda Orchestra Concert will stream on February 9th and the Splatoon 3 Deep Cut concert will stream on February 10th.

— Tim Rhyne, Jason Liu

MAIN QUEST: Microsoft gaming cuts 1,900 employees

This week, Microsoft announced significant layoffs affecting 1,900 employees across Activision Blizzard and Xbox, part of its gaming division. The decision, impacting about 8% of the division's 22,000-strong workforce, comes just over three months after Activision, Blizzard, and King became part of Microsoft. In an internal memo, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer outlined the company's commitment to aligning strategies and execution plans to support the growth of the business.

In parallel, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra has decided to leave the company following the acquisition, and Allen Adham, Blizzard’s Chief Design Officer, is also departing. A new Blizzard president will be named shortly. Microsoft's recent decision to cancel a previously announced Blizzard survival game aligns with broader changes, reallocating resources to new projects in early development. These layoffs occur amidst broader industry cutbacks, including companies like Riot Games, Google, and Discord. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion was completed last October, with significant leadership changes at Xbox and across its gaming divisions. The company is preparing to report its fiscal Q2 2024 earnings, which will reflect the impact of the Activision Blizzard acquisition for the first time.

Step back: given the climate in the gaming industry plus the post-merger integration of Activision Blizzard King, it was inevitable that there’d be some “right-sizing” in the works as part of the deal’s value creation plan. Nonetheless, it’s still a sour note in a rough January for careers in gaming.

HUD

• 🔫 Blizzard announced the Overwatch Champions Series, OWCS, a new multi-year partnership with Suadi-owned ESL Faceit Group. This partnership will replace the Overwatch League, which ended operations following their 2023 season.

• 🚓 The GTA Trilogy has been downloaded over 18 million times since Netflix made it available last month. Netflix marks it as the “most successful launches in terms of installs and engagement.”

• 👎️ Riot Games lays off 11% of its global workforce alongside announcing the end of its Riot Forge publishing arm following the release of Bandle Tale on February 24th. The stated goal is to refocus the company on “fewer, high-impact projects to move us toward a more sustainable future.”

• 🗺️Palworld releases its current early access roadmap. They are prioritizing fixing bugs and connectivity issues while announcing future large-scale features including PvP, Raid Bosses, Crossplay, and server transfers.

MAJOR W

• 💰 Twitch is expanding its Partner Plus program, which allows streamers a bigger revenue share. Beginning May 1st, the program will be rebranded as the Plus Program and will have lower thresholds for qualification. Affiliates will also be eligible to participate.

• 💸 Narwhal Accelerator has been launched by Dmitrii Filatov and Grigory Bortnik, aiming to invest up to $100,000 in gaming and game tech firms in Europe, LATAM, and MENA.

F IN THE CHAT

• 📝 Days after the servers for The Day Before shut down for good, developer Fntastic took to X for the first time in over a month, posting a lengthy message alleging hate campaigns from bloggers tanked the game.

• 🖼️ Four employees from the Van Gogh Museum were suspended as a result of the Pokémon exhibition fiasco at the museum last year. The Pokémon exhibit was overtaken by scalpers looking to get their hands on an exclusive Pikachu card that was given for free to those who bought tickets to the exhibit.

CAREER CORNER

• Senior Marketing Manager — Cult Games (Remote, UK)

• Unity Software Engineer — Easy Games (San Diego, CA)

• Data Analyst — Emerald City Games (Vancouver, Canada)

HIVE MIND

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