Activision Blizzard fired about 50 people today, as reported by Bloomberg and Sports Business Journal.
It is said that the cuts are mainly due to the direct opportunities of the publisher and of sports businesses.
“Players are increasingly choosing to join our games digitally,” said a representative of Activision Blizzard GamesIndustry.biz. “Everything we do is through the lens of our players, and over the past year we’ve been researching how we can best meet their needs.
“The esports team, like the traditional sports, entertainment and broadcasting industry, had to adjust its business due to the impact of the pandemic on live events. We did not retain an overwhelming majority of the team during a complex year. ‘We are taking extensive steps, especially in the current environment. We are taking extensive steps to facilitate the transition for all affected employees.’
The representative did not immediately return a request for clarification on which department the cut was coming from.
In an interview with Sports Business Journal, Tony Petitti, president of sports and entertainment at Activision Blizzard, said live events for Call of Duty League and Overwatch League are not going to go away completely.
“We learned a lot last year about how the leagues for online play can be structured, and we will want to use best practices from that,” Petitti said. “In terms of timing, it’s a response to the reality of how the leagues play and what resources we need to allocate to best serve the league, owners, teams and supporters.”
A representative of Activision Blizzard further explained to us, “Live events are still a big part of the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League strategies. We plan to return as soon as it is safe and logistically feasible. . “
Bloomberg reports that U.S. employees who are laid off will receive at least a 90-day separation period and a year of continued health benefits.
Blizzard closed offices in France and the Netherlands in October last year and refurbished staff in its Asia-Pacific studios in November. Between the layoffs, it announced plans to employ 2,000 people to meet production demands.