Activision Publishing reportedly lays off 5% of its employees

Activision Publishing have reportedly laid off 5% of its employees after Activision Blizzard posted record financial returns yesterday. If the headcount on Activision Publishing’s website is accurate, as many as 200 employees could be affected.

This was reported by Kotaku, who have also reported that these cuts have been shared across the organisation, with departures from studios like Infinity Ward, who created this year’s Call of Duty title Infinite Warfare, Beenox and also Activision’s corporate office. A spokesperson told Kotaku: "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,"

Activision have two big games announced this year. Destiny 2 is due to appear at the tail end of the year, Call of Duty’s yearly iteration is looking to cut out the futuristic approach, opting instead for an approach that takes the series "back to its roots" which could hint at a return to World War 2.

One game not appearing is Skylanders, which was previously a mainstay in Activision’s release schedules. This year, Activision are planning to skip a new version and instead support last year’s effort Skylanders: Imaginators throughout the year, while also producing a port of Imaginators for the forthcoming Nintendo Switch.