Let’s say it right away: yes, seeing Microsoft lay off Bethesda employees at a time when the group is supposed to put all the chances on its side to make itself look good before the competition authorities, which are currently obstructing to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, has something frankly improbable. But an announcement as heavy as this cannot always wait, and since Microsoft will present its next financial results on January 24, the bad news had to be announced without further delay, to the public and shareholders alike. And to the employees.
343 “Hard-Hit” Industries
It is moreover the CEO Satya Nadella who took his keyboard and his responsibilities by publishing a communicated confirming that Microsoft will part with 4.5% of its workforce, i.e. 10,000 people out of 221,000. -19: before the pandemic, Microsoft had “only” 144,000 employees. Faced with less spendthrift consumers on the one hand and the specter of a possible recession on the other, the press release from Satya Nadella (who received $54.95 million in total compensation last year) evokes the desire to divest in certain areas to concentrate its efforts on the strategic values of tomorrow, in particular artificial intelligence which seems to be Microsoft’s new hobby, but gives no indication of the departments concerned by the layoffs.
It is therefore via social networks or the journalist Jason Schreier from Bloomberg that the thing was quickly confirmed: the video game is indeed one of the areas affected by these workforce reductions. To be more precise, it is already known that a considerable number of people have just lost their jobs at 343 Industries, in particular in the team which carried out the Halo Infinite single-player campaign. Called in as reinforcements in 2020 to take over the development of the campaign, then of the game as a whole, creative director Joseph Staten obviously did not receive a letter of dismissal, but is also leaving 343 Industries to resume his former position at heart of the Xbox Game Studios Publishing department.
“Leadership incompetence”
The fate reserved for 343 Industries obviously does not leave you insensitive on social networks and in particular pushed Patrick Wren to come out of his reserve. This former multiplayer designer on Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite, now working at Respawn Entertainment, had powerful words for his former superiors:
“The layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened and Halo Infinite should be in a better state. The reason for both of these events is leadership incompetence during the development of Halo Infinite, which caused tremendous stress for those working hard to make the best Halo possible. The people I worked with every day were passionate about Halo and wanted to do something good for the fans. They helped push for a better Halo and were fired for it. The developers who are still there are working hard to realize this dream. Look at Forge. Be kind to them during this difficult time. And I want to point out how great the multiplayer management team was during development.“
“Strong public comments from a Halo developer that mirror what I’ve heard from many other developers. (Other issues, as we reported, were tools and heavy reliance on contractors, who had to be fired after 18 months)“, reacts Jason Schreier, who had as a reminder signed an article on the circumstances of the development of Halo Infinite. At the same time, as always when layoffs are announced, recruiters are quick to come forward, notably those of Bungie.
Strong public words from a Halo developer, mirroring what I’ve heard from many other Halo developers. (Other problems, as we’ve reported, included the tools and a heavy reliance on contractors who had to be let go after 18 months) https://t.co/z4m1xtDS8T
—Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 19, 2023
More surprising than the now usual berezina specific to 343 Industries, Bethesda Game Studios is also one of the teams affected, while it is the group in charge of finalizing the production of Starfield, one of the most important releases of the game. year for Microsoft. Among the employees who confirmed their fate on Twitter is also Sam Luangkhot, community manager of The Elder Scrolls Online, which means we can include ZeniMax Online Studios. Furthermore, according to Kotakuthe membership of The Coalition, known as the studio of the Gears of War franchise, has also lost its feathers.
Those 10,000 job cuts will cost Microsoft a $1.2 billion charge, including higher-than-average severance pay and six months of healthcare coverage. This loss will be recorded in the company’s third fiscal quarter results (January – March 2023), whose quarterly net profit may have reached up to $20.5 billion during the pandemic. Yes, quarterly. In addition to Microsoft, which had already fired 1,000 employees last October, Amazon, Unity, NetEase Games and Wizards of the Coast have also made layoffs since the start of the year, not forgetting Meta last fall.
- Also Read | Wizards of the Coast is already cutting back on its video game ambitions
