Activision is preparing to close numerous offices and lay off employees after a recent round of layoffs, prompting scrutiny of the publisher.
After the news broke that Activision you just had a wave of layoffs, you may be preparing to cut even more staff, as well as close studios. A new report highlights more issues at one of the largest game publishers out there, raising a lot of concern around how Activision manages its money, staff, and studios.
Activision has been criticized in the past for how it handles its employees. Activision has also come under fire for its previous use of microtransactions, which have since been reformatted into skin and flat packs. However, Activision has also been praised for positive initiatives such as the free-to-play success of War zone which helped Activision generate $ 3 billion in 2020 alone.
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But according to a report by GamesIndustry.biz it was not enough to prevent Activision from firing staff. Activision will close its European publishing division that spans the UK, Germany, France, Spain and two offices in the Netherlands. The move will be made to help condense the European editorial side into a central hub in the UK, which means it won’t affect any overseas developers. However, as this happens, offices will be closed and staff will likely be moved or fired altogether. This comes just days after 50 Activision staff members were laid off and offered Battle.net gift cards as some form of compensation.
Activision released a statement noting the change and promises to help staff with their future. “We have shared plans with our teams in Europe on how we would evolve as an organization, adapting to this change to serve our players and better position the region for future growth. We will take important steps to support all employees and ease the transition for those of our colleagues who could be affected by these proposed changes.“said an Activision representative. Still, it’s hard to avoid the contrast of more layoffs after the last round still fresh in the public mind.
But this is a particularly bad time for Activision. The publisher routinely fires people, as part of the normal course of business. But Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was paid $ 200 million as a result of the company’s success in 2020 and then laid off tons of people during a pandemic. The fact that some of them were offered gift cards that cost Activision Nothing in place of a proper severance package shows the division of priorities. Although the company may need to downsize in some areas, it has chosen the worst time, since it makes billions of cash and the job market is tight.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
Reference-screenrant.com
