Activision Blizzard to close offices in Versailles and The Hague

Activision Blizzard is set to close its office in Versailles, France, according to Bloomberg. In a follow-up Tweet, it was also revealed that the company is closing its office in The Hague, Netherlands

More news: Blizzard also quietly shut down its office in The Hague, Netherlands earlier this year, employees told Bloomberg. An Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed the closure this afternoon.

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 6, 2020

As of early 2019, the office employed around 400 people, handling marketing, customer support, game localisation and other functions. It is not currently clear how many people will lose their jobs as a result of the closure, but French labour laws mean that companies are forced to negotiate significant compensation packages during mass layoffs.

According to sources familiar with the plans, the company had initially planned to relocate half of the office to London, but the twin factors of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted these plans, leading to the office being closed instead.

Employees expect to learn more next week, with spokesperson for Santa Monica, California-based Activision Blizzard stating to Bloomberg that: “Over the past year we have been exploring how we might best integrate our capabilities across the business, enabling us to better leverage talent, expertise and scale as we adapt to the needs of a fast-paced, highly-competitive, digitally focused industry.”

Additionally, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson spoke to GamesIndustry.biz, denying that Brexit or the pandemic had any impact on the decision, and stated:

“Over the past year we have been exploring how we might best integrate our capabilities across the business, enabling us to better leverage talent, expertise and scale as we adapt to the needs of a fast-paced, highly-competitive, digitally focused industry.

“In the context of our Versailles office, the management of Blizzard France has informed its employee representatives of a proposed project to reorganize its activities. Supporting our employees through this process is our number one priority. We are working through various processes related to this and a CSE meeting is scheduled for October 13th and 14th. Until then, as there is a prescribed legal process, we cannot provide further comment.”