The staff that got fired were part of eSports and live events in 2020
Activision BBlizzard Inc. fired dozens of their employees last Wednesday, mostly those who worked with the eSports and broadcasting department, since the company is moving away from live eSports events. The workers in the U.S will be paid for at least 90 days of severance and access to health benefits, along with $200 in Battle.net gift cards.
The company’s plans
Activision Blizzard Inc. is a video game publishing company based in America. This is the company that backs development studios like Blizzard Entertainment, King, Major League Gaming, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and Activision Blizzard Studios. The gaming titles that came from them contain some big names, including World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, Crash Bandicoot, Candy Crush Saga, and Starcraft among many others.
According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, over 50 employees working in live events for the company had been fired, such as the ones handling eSports programs like the Overwatch League. In the article, Schreier claims that the number of employees fired by Activision Blizzard Inc. comes under 190, which is less than 2% of their total employees.
This firing is indicative that the company plans to move away from hosting live and in-person events, as the COVID-19 lockdowns have seriously affected such events. Numerous gaming events set for 2020 had to be cancelled, and big gaming events such as E3 and The Game Awards were conducted online.
BlizzCon’s delay
Even BlizzCon, their yearly event was postponed indefinitely. The finals for their eSports tournaments were also held online, and now the mass layoffs show how the company is coping with the regulations caused by the pandemic. But its decision to hand out gift cards will be another case for discussion.
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