Mass layoffs at Activision Blizzard on the way

[Warsharl-frostmourne (Warsharl)]

it all go downhill when they negated Alliance and favored the Horde…
see Blizzard…Alliance ARE the sugar daddy…not the horde…

[Bonekollektr-azjolnerub]

I wonder since Blizzard has not released a original IP in quite a while if Activision may not hammer them with layoffs to light a fire under them to create a new game. Not a reskin or remake but a completely new game

[Actasanc-kirin-tor (Actasanc)]

They had a rough last quarter although job cut plans have been on the table prior to that – pretty normal even for healthy companies. Unforunately self-deluded people will still link it as the eventual consequences for displeasing them by not removing LFR, WF/TF, Brazilians still being allowed to play, or a hundred other things.

[anon12366123]

Maybe with the layoffs they can afford to hire a competent writing team!

[Zalathel-tichondrius (Zalathel)]

It’s just greed.

Any game that would have sold over 7 million copies a decade ago would have been considered a smashing success.

Apparently though in the eyes of some it is a “disappointment” today like EA.

Red Dead Redemption is one of the greatest proofs at this time that single player oriented games can still make insane profits if done right.

[Funkflex-tichondrius]

top dogs make 10 million
interns make 30,000
seems right to me………….

[Rastlin-eldrethalas (Rastlin)]

~gameinformer.com/2019/02/08/report-mass-layoffs-at-activision-blizzard-will-result-in-hundreds-of-lost-jobs
Yikes

Bloomberg is reporting an upcoming plan from Activision Blizzard to lay off hundreds of workers as the company attempts to restructure and centralize its operations.

Sources tell us the layoffs will will come from different parts of the company, including Blizzard, though it’s not clear what parts of the studio will be affected. At the end of 2017, Activision employed 9800 people across all sections of the corporation.

The news comes after a rocky few months for Activision. While Call of Duty has been performing well, some things like the split with Bungie, Forsaken not meeting sales expectations, and flat numbers for games like Overwatch have resulted in a weaker price for Activision’s stock, which has declined nearly 2.5 percent today.

Activision is expected to make the official announcement on Tuesday.

This is a direct result of removing flight.

Before people jump on me, no the fact that call of duty and Forsaken are also doing poorly do not relate directly to the fact that flight has been wrongfully stolen from us.

It is a mindset.

When a company thinks that they know best and the customer does not then they lose their way and go bankrupt.

Just like Sears. Once great, now gone.

Blizzard is going to go bankrupt if they do not change their mindset.

Start by bringing back flight.

[Funkflex-tichondrius]

It doesn’t help when an investor that owns 6.5% of the company leaves either…

wow will be dead in 1 or 2 more expansions time

[Spinster-farstriders (Spinster)]

If all you care about is money, money is your passion. The gamers that used to make wow are now worried about their nest egg!

Money can also be your passion if, say, you have a spouse who needs ongoing healthcare or a special needs child. It can be your passion if you want to start your own company. It isn’t always about a bigger boat.

I’m a Bohemian Socialist Arteest. I don’t love greed. But I am old enough to know that it really isn’t as simple as either having a passion for good work or a passion for money.

[Tewa-hyjal (Tewa)]

This is a direct result of removing flight.

Before people jump on me, no the fact that call of duty and Forsaken are also doing poorly do not relate directly to the fact that flight has been wrongfully stolen from us.

It is a mindset.

When a company thinks that they know best and the customer does not then they lose their way and go bankrupt.

Just like Sears. Once great, now gone.

Blizzard is going to go bankrupt if they do not change their mindset.

Start by bringing back flight.

I agree completely.

[Mastadôn-thrall (Mastadôn)]

What makes you think there is not a team already working on the next expansion?

[Drauguss-azralon (Drauguss)]

Pays 15 milions for a CFO and a week after it does a massive cut of jobs.

Activion Blizzard actions are dumb as always.

[Crookedmán-stormrage (Crookedmán)]

Activision gonna have only the people they want working there. Wow will be console or mobile soon enough. #hopeyouhavephones

[Abruek-turalyon (Abruek)]

Why even try? 8.2 is mostly finished

No it isn’t, 8.1.5 isn’t even close to being finished.

[Tragik-khadgar (Tragik)]

They also are basically being sued by Sweden for 370 million for lost tax income due to moving King to Malta.

Still I think ATVI will be back around 60 by year’s end. Simply based upon classic. Even at 2 million additional subs, which is below what I think the initial surge will be, that’s significant profit.

As a shareholder and somebody who plays wow I hope that they realize the value of simply investing into existing IP over continuing down this misguided mobile and esports path. There is little financial data supporting that it has been successful at all.

The hiring of Sebastian Stepien should bode well, depending on the project. The StarCraft IP should be reutilized as well. Balancing overwatch for esports should not be prioritized over getting all IP generating revenue at a higher level. And that’s been a failure as of late.

[Amine-blackwater-raiders (Amine)]

So you think ATVI is on the verge of bankruptcy ?

[Solarwynds-earthen-ring (Solarwynds)]

~gameinformer.com/2019/02/08/report-mass-layoffs-at-activision-blizzard-will-result-in-hundreds-of-lost-jobs~

So if we argue about this over the weekend, do we have to do it again Monday when we find out what the actual plan is?

[Solarwynds-earthen-ring (Solarwynds)]

Have a hope the layoffs will include a few big names

Fixed that for you!

[Varrow-sargeras (Varrow)]

So you mean releasing crappy, unfinished products and then also treating your playerbase like they are idiots, telling us what we actually want, and not listening to anything we say might actually be a poor plan?

Who would have thought!

[Tomten-arygos (Tomten)]

So you think ATVI is on the verge of bankruptcy ?

I have no idea, but although a lot of investors have always seen layoffs as a “good” thing unless there is a recession, and there isn’t at this time, layoffs always show that the company is either in trouble or simply has done bad planning.

I am prejudices on the subject, I worked for Eastman Kodak for 36 years and accurately predicted their bankruptcy three years before it happened. But I was an “insider”, I have no information about ATVI beyond what’s in the news. The only other time I accurately predicted a company’s problems was Xerox, and I knew the idiot who became the CEO of the Xerox half after they split from his time at Polychrome, Kodak, and Presstech.