Sponsored By

Layoffs hit Activision-owned Infinity Ward, Beenox, and others

A number of companies tied together under Activision Blizzard have fallen victim to a round of layoffs that hit 5 percent of the Activision Publishing workforce.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

February 10, 2017

1 Min Read
Game Developer logo in a gray background | Game Developer

Activision Blizzard has executed a round of layoffs that impacted a number of employees working at Infinity Ward, Beenox, Activision’s corporate office, and other internal studios.

According to reports from Kotaku, the company laid off 5 percent of its workforce across the Activision Publishing side of the business which encompasses Activision's corporate offices as well as several development studios. 

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare developer Infinity Ward was one of the studios that received a significant cut in employment, with 20 layoffs hitting the developer just one day after Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirschberg noted that the latest Call of Duty game failed to resonate with players.

Additionally, the cuts affected Activision-owned Beenox, which closed down its entire in-house QA unit but still maintains a workforce of roughly 150 developers, an anonymous source told Gamasutra. 

“Activision Publishing is realigning our resources to support our upcoming slate and adapt to the accelerating transition to digital, including opportunities for digital add-on content," said an Activision representative in a statement to Kotaku. 

As always, if you or someone you know have been affected by these layoffs, you can email Gamasutra to share your story confidentially. 

About the Author

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

Daily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inbox

You May Also Like