Symptoms of Upcoming Microsoft Layoffs in XBox
A crashing franchise
Microsoft has already had at least 2 waves of layoffs this month (in just over half a month; maybe ~17 days) and lots of gossip this month said that we ought to expect additional cuts in XBox or "games" or "entertainment" (bucket shuffle in reporting units meant to obscure losses and debt), including studios acquired by Microsoft so as to fake revenue growth. There were signs on the wall, including cryptic messages from senior staff and departures. Heck, the co-founder of the franchise openly blasted Microsoft's strategy, there were downtimes, massive price hikes that infuriated fans, and mass cancellations that overwhelmed and even crashed the site. Some time before Microsoft "results" (end of this month) it seems safe to expect more layoff revelations.
Found below in Sunday news [1,2] were media reports about Blizzard/Activision workers choosing unionise some more because they lack confidence and have no real sense of job security, seeing what's happening around them. To us, bearing in mind what was already covered last month and so far this month, it seems like they "brace for impact". █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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Even more Blizzard workers have voted to unionise, this time around 100 devs who work on Hearthstone
It's a busy week for union organisers at Activision Blizzard. Yesterday, in conjunction with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a group of over 100 developers that work on Hearthstone and the mobile only strategy game Warcraft Rumble voted "strongly in favor of wall-to-wall union representation." This comes after around 400 Blizzard platform and technology workers voted to unionise, also with the CWA.
The union is made up of numerous roles such as quality assurance testers, artists, designers, software engineers, and producers, having been particularly inspired by World of Warcraft devs that voted to unionise last July. Organising committee member and game designer Dominic Calkosz said in a statement, "My coworkers, as individuals, have voiced many concerns over the years, but it is easy for any company to ignore individuals. We chose to organise in pursuit of a collective voice and a force of solidarity that the industry cannot ignore."
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Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble devs join the over 1900 Blizzard workers to unionize: 'We deserve to be heard and respected'
Only a few months after most of the Warcraft Rumble team was laid off as all future development was canceled, a majority of the remaining workers therein and the Hearthstone team have voted to organize—joining over 1,900 Blizzard workers now in a union under the Communications Workers of America.
As the CWA posted on their site, the new group represents "over 100 workers including software engineers, designers, artists, quality assurance testers, and producers." They are the fifth group at Blizzard to do so, following the Diablo team's vote less than two months ago. Microsoft has already recognized the union.
The CWA shared quotes from various developers supporting the motion in its announcement. Game designer on the Hearthstone team and organizing committee member Dominic Calkosz said, "My coworkers, as individuals, have voiced many concerns over the years, but it is easy for any company to ignore individuals.