Mass layoffs at Activision Blizzard on the way

[Fastestdots-alleria]

i love u sooo much

[Arron-wyrmrest-accord (Arron)]

Not saying this is a good thing, but let’s also contextualize this by mentioning that Blizzard specifically has been aggressively hiring for its game development programs.

There’s no telling if this article is accurate, but if it is, there’s no way to know which companies will be hit (as Actiblizz is a holding company and this announcement may or may not even affect Blizzard specifically) and which departments will be targeted.

Basically, just keep an eye out for news on tuesday, I guess.

[anon66757435]

I Didnt like that D20 crap that they licensed out or whatever and the other company who makes the Pathfinder RPG uses. Hated that system as well.

You gotta understand that edition, 3.5E, had a ridiculous following who layed the hell on to 4E for not being that edition again. A lot of its is a direct result for the nightmare that edition was, what with it having classes who were so stupidly powerful they would outdo everything, and classes so laughably weak they couldn’t even do the job they were advertised to do

Ive been playing since Red Box was the current edition, so Ive seen my share of game systems.
I’ll just repeat again that 4e had a solid mechanic system, but the entire game seemed to be solely about combat abilities.
Half my players hate combat to begin with, which is why we rarely do supers games which revolve around it. I couldnt get them to even play 4e after the second session it was so horrible.

I dont care what other players did or think. What I care about is MY game and MY group. We all had a horrible taste for D&D after seeing 4e and it being about combat instead of role playing.

the games I design myself try to make the system an afterthought instead of the focus. I found out it is possible to have a strong, but very simple game system without all the fluff.

But…that fluff is what makes the $$$ so thats why D&D4e had tons of it…well, any commercial game does if it has any success.

[Fyrebusche-kiljaeden]

should have taken the buyout they were offering a while back

[Doormouse-sisters-of-elune]

Been years but how could they do better than AD&D second edition… Temple of Elemental evil was a fun module as well as Giants etc. Think that was TSR stuff though and not Gary G.

I mean, every time I see the old way of armor classes I have a slight aneurysm, plus, well, making psionics actually work and smoothing out the harder points

But then 3E happened instead

I miss painting figurines. Life was so much better then.

[anon66757435]

Been years but how could they do better than AD&D second edition… Temple of Elemental evil was a fun module as well as Giants etc. Think that was TSR stuff though and not Gary G.

I cringe thinking about early versions of the game.
One of the things I did like about 4e was magic casters not being made of tissue paper. That and not being limited to a single casting…or maybe two.
I learned to hate the leveling concept early on as well, so that wasnt helping my attitude with a lot of the systems we tried, including Rolemaster.

[Enkki-eonar (Enkki)]

Considering they are trying to centralize operations, i would expect something similar. IT depts, etc.

Centralized IT does not bode well for the launcher unless the various IT products will be compartmentalized within the department. I would also expect a consolidated PR function and maybe even combining art departments into one. In all three of these areas, fewer management personnel would be needed for the combined operations, minimizing the necessity to cut-back on the developers.

[Bluspacecow-muradin (Bluspacecow)]

@Arron-wyrmrest-accord

There’s no telling if this article is accurate, but if it is, there’s no way to know which companies will be hit (as Actiblizz is a holding company and this announcement may or may not even affect Blizzard specifically) and which departments will be targeted.

Thats a very good point.

From the article -

“Activision Blizzard Incplans to announce job cuts Tuesday in the face of slowing sales”

“The layoffs, which could number in the hundreds, are part of a restructuring aimed at centralizing functions and boosting profit”

So the jobs could be cut from any of ATVI’s divisions including (and not limited to) - Activision Publishing , Blizzard Entertainment , King .com LTD, Activision Blizzard Studios , Major League Gaming , Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues and Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group.

What’s interesting is that on Jan 9th , 2019 Dennis Durkin was announced as not only CFO of ATVI but also “President of the Company’s Emerging Businesses, working closely with each division’s leadership team. In this expanded role, Mr. Durkin will oversee operational management of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, Activision Blizzard Studios and Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group”

Durkin’s appointment now makes a lot of sense now.

[Febrith-azgalor]

I dunno. Getting splinters of Azerite as a “reward” is pretty annoying.

[Dárken-bleeding-hollow]

And this kind of mentality is why gaming is in the state its in now. Oh no worries, we will get’em next time cap’n!

[Akston-bloodhoof (Akston)]

Centralized IT does not bode well for the launcher unless the various IT products will be compartmentalized within the department. I would also expect a consolidated PR function and maybe even combining art departments into one. In all three of these areas, fewer management personnel would be needed for the combined operations, minimizing the necessity to cut-back on the developers.

I was mostly referring to, in my hypothetically example, of IT depts that are more there for maintenance on machines/servers in the building. This was already a dept specifically targeted in the EU offices, I believe, with the “voluntary lay offs”.

[anon66757435]

It cost millions and to those fanbois seeing pathfinder as a compromise, no it was not

Exactly. giving us EXACTLY what we demanded isnt a ‘compromise’ by the definition of the word.
Giving flight exactly as it existed before meant they COULD do it, but didnt WANT to do it.

[Bluspacecow-muradin (Bluspacecow)]

@Enkki-eonar

Centralized IT does not bode well for the launcher unless the various IT products will be compartmentalized within the department.

Considering the deep foundational nature of the work the battle.net team does I don’t see them thinning that team down at all.

They not only work on the battle.net launcher but many of the internal tools and libraries the company as a whole relies on (this includes the devs)

[Fôurth-illidan (Fôurth)]

I love to expand my corporate Orwellian lexicon when these types of press releases come out.

[anon66757435]

Getting splinters of Azerite as a “reward” is pretty annoying.

yeah, that was the last straw for me.
I figured Id never get pathfinder. Then the nerfing began. When I got a few tiny shards or whatever after doing something I put some time into one day I kinda snapped on the inside and stopped doing anything in BfA.
I’ll wait till they get serious about making an interesting, fun game again.
Having a blast in MoP even after 19 months of playing in there if that says anything.

[Kittredge-azjolnerub (Kittredge)]

“The layoffs, which could number in the hundreds, are part of a restructuring aimed at centralizing functions and boosting profit”

I didn’t read the article but if this is in there and if it’s true, this is corporate speak for “they were fired for budget reason and now we’re going to put a spin on it”. I don’t know who these firings would apply to, but that’s basically what the line translates to.

[Akston-bloodhoof (Akston)]

I didn’t read the article but if this is in there and if it’s true, this is corporate speak for “they were fired for budget reason and now we’re going to put a spin on it”. I don’t know who these firings would apply to, but that’s basically what the line translates to.

But what if they literally are centralizing different offices?

[Kittredge-azjolnerub (Kittredge)]

Then why not just talk about that? Again I didn’t read the article, but I do know corporate speak.

[anon66757435]

I love to expand my corporate Orwellian lexicon when these types of press releases come out.

I do a little investing. Have for over 3 decades.
Youd be surprised how a little information out of the middle east can affect the price of my silver.
I watched some crap going on when Bush was president (no suspension for mentioning a presidents name, I hope) that I dont think most people would have connected to silver prices.
I remember telling the wife we needed to dump some more cash into silver quick.
3 days later the price jumped 34% in one day.
I sold a bit, made some money. The story died down and the price returned to where it was before it spiked.

Sometimes the evidence is right there in front of our faces and we either cant see it, or dont want to see it.
Those of us who take it for what it is can use it to our advantage, if possible.

A press release itself might not be much. But add that in to a dozen other factors that dont look so good and yeah…someone should be able to figure it out blindfolded.

[Enkki-eonar (Enkki)]

@Bluspacecow-muradin

Considering the deep foundational nature of the work the [battle.net](http://battle.net) team does I don’t see them thinning that team down at all.

They not only work on the [battle.net](http://battle.net) launcher but many of the internal tools and libraries the company as a whole relies on (this includes the devs)

Which is why I speculated that personnel losses would likely be management positions. If you consolidate 3 entities into one, you don’t need 3 full management teams to oversee the new “one” function. Maybe just 1 or 1-1/2. Worker bees likely wouldn’t be affected (or affected as much) since it will still take “x” manhours to produce a particular product or service.