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In light of this, Mike Ybarra and Allen Adham have also decided to leave the company.
In recent months, with all the layoffs happening left and right, many have noticed a peculiar pattern taking place in various game and tech companies – the more successful and profitable they become, the more inclined they are to announce the departure of hundreds, and at times, even thousands of workers. Unfortunately, tech giant Microsoft wasn't an exception, letting go of nearly 2,000 employees from its gaming division just hours after achieving a historic milestone of reaching a market cap of $3 trillion.
As reported by The Verge, Microsoft terminated around 1,900 job positions, representing about 8% of the workforce in the company's gaming division. According to an internal memo sent by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer to employees, the majority of the laid-off workers were from Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft officially acquired just three months ago, along with some individuals from Xbox and ZeniMax.
We have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team," reads the memo obtained by The Verge. "The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion, and dedication they have brought to our games, our players, and our colleagues."
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Shortly after the layoffs were announced, Mike Ybarra, Blizzard Entertainment's President, and Allen Adham, one of the studio's Founders and its Chief Design Officer, also revealed their decision to quit.
"Today is my last day at Blizzard," Ybarra wrote on Twitter. "Leading Blizzard through an incredible time and being part of the team, shaping it for the future ahead, was an absolute honor. Having already spent 20+ years at Microsoft and with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it's time for me to (once again) become Blizzard's biggest fan from the outside."
"As one of Blizzard's cofounders, Allen has had a broad impact on all of Blizzard's games. His influence will be felt for years to come, both directly and indirectly, as Allen plans to continue mentoring young designers across the industry," wrote Matt Booty, Microsoft's Game Content and Studios President, about Blizzard's Co-Founder's departure.
Image Credit: Reuters
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