Last week, the gaming world witnessed a wave of layoffs affecting thousands of developers. Major studios, especially Microsoft’s Xbox departments, have taken measures to reorganize costs. In this context, it was revealed that popular games may be canceled.
Layoffs hit Xbox, Riot Games and more
The biggest layoff crisis has been at Microsoft and Riot Games. Microsoft fired nearly two thousand people from its Xbox division and its recently acquired Activision-Blizzard and ZeniMax Media. Riot Games, on the other hand, parted ways with around 530 employees.
Several independent studios also suffered widespread cuts. Polish developer People Can Fly fired 30 people working on its “Gemini” project. It also assigned 20 people outside the project. Black Forest Games laid off half of its 100-strong staff. Reikon Games reportedly laid off 80 percent of its employees.
Directors of popular TV series and movies will participate in the development phase of The Last of Us season 2.
Some sources following the gaming world stated that about six thousand people were fired in January alone. These cuts come at a time when the gaming industry is grappling with uncertainty. While big companies are planning to cut costs, they are also reorganizing their resources.
Blizzard Entertainment, for example, has abandoned development of an unannounced survival game. The game would have been Blizzard’s first new brand since launching Overwatch in 2016.
Whether there will be more layoffs remains to be seen as companies continue to evaluate their budgets and roadmaps. However, this is also a harbinger that the expected games will be delayed.
So what do you think about this? Do you think this move is the right one? You can share your opinions with us in the Comments section below.
