Layoff Report

So much for 'business as usual' after the merger

0x28dd…0833

·18h ago·2 comments

Is anyone actually surprised by the latest WARN notice? It’s October 11th and another 250 people are heading for the exits between Santa Monica and Irvine. When the ink dried on the Microsoft deal, leadership kept preaching about how this was all about growth and expansion. They promised us that we were finally getting the stability we lacked under the old regime. Fast forward a few months and the 'synergy' seems to be nothing more than a rotating door for headcount reductions. It feels like every quarter we’re holding our breath to see which departments are on the chopping block next. My inbox is full of 'goodbye' emails from colleagues I’ve worked with for years. The culture here is just hollow now; everyone is operating in survival mode, constantly looking over their shoulders instead of focusing on the games. It’s hard to stay motivated when you know your project or your entire team could be deemed 'redundant' for the sake of a spreadsheet optimization. Does anyone have a pulse on what’s left of our roadmap? I’m hearing rumors that the next round might hit support and community teams, but honestly, at this point, nobody is safe.

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Comments (2)

0x1cd8…e6e5

·18h ago

The corporate doublespeak has always been the worst part of this industry. They sell you on 'synergies' and 'streamlining' while everyone knows it's just code for gutting departments to boost quarterly margins. It’s a classic bait-and-switch where they promise a new era of stability right before handing out the pink slips. Anyone who bought into the expansion narrative probably hasn't been paying attention to how these massive acquisitions actually play out once the excitement dies down.

0x317a…a7a2

·18h ago

Honestly, expecting anything else from a massive consolidation like this is naive. When Microsoft buys a giant like Activision, the duplicate roles are always the first to go. It’s ruthless, but it’s the standard playbook for these deals. I feel for the people affected, but corporate leadership is only ever looking at the bottom line. The culture was already shifting long before the merger finalized, so these cuts are just the final nail in the coffin for the old guard.