Microsoft Corporation, an American multinational technology corporation, is set to layoff 1,900 people across its video-game divisions, according to Bloomberg.
The majority of roles being cut are from Activision Blizzard, but some Xbox and ZeniMax employees will also be affected.
The layoffs will amount to around eight percent of the total Microsoft Gaming division, which has about 22,000 employees in total.
An internal memo from Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, obtained by The Verge, an American technology news website confirms the layoffs.
In the memo, Spencer said Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard’s leadership are working together to align on a strategy and execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the company’s growing business.
Mike Ybarra, president at Blizzard and Allen Adham, the company’s chief design officer, will be leaving the company alongside the layoffs. Microsoft plans to name a new Blizzard president next week.
Blizzard’s previously announced survival game has been cancelled as part of these changes. Microsoft will shift some of the people working on it to one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of development.
Microsoft closed its $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard in October, boosting its heft in the video gaming market with best-selling titles, including ‘Call of Duty,’ to better compete with industry leader Sony. Other video game companies, including Riot Games, have also enacted mass layoffs.
