Microsoft’s 10,000 Layoffs Expected to Hit Gaming Division

Microsoft’s gaming division finds itself under even more strain. 

The company announced it will be cutting roughly 10,000 jobs, which will reportedly involve layoffs within its gaming sector, including its 343 Industries and Bethesda Game Studios properties. The tech giant is cutting jobs to reduce costs amid economic uncertainty.

Microsoft acquired Bethesda — the publisher behind hit franchises “Fallout” and “The Elder Scrolls” — in September 2020 when it purchased parent company ZeniMax for $7.5 billion.

• Layoffs from Bethesda and the “Halo Infinite” developer 343 Industries include employees who had been with Microsoft for more than 10 years.
• Microsoft made layoffs in its engineering divisions and augmented reality business but plans to hire within more competitive sectors, including artificial intelligence.

Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs comes after a group of video game testers formed the company’s first U.S labor union and the largest in the gaming industry.

Gaming

| by Abigail Gentrup

Microsoft Workers Form Gaming Industry’s Largest Union

The election period ended Dec. 31 and was formally certified Tuesday.

January 4, 2023

On Jan. 3, a majority of Microsoft’s 300 quality-assurance workers voted to unionize, which was planned before the company’s pending purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

Up in the Air 

Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been facing regulatory scrutiny. 

Washington-based Microsoft is reportedly likely to receive an antitrust warning in the coming weeks from the European Union regarding the deal and its anticompetitive behavior.

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission sued Microsoft to block the acquisition. That same month, Microsoft argued that blocking the deal would be unconstitutional.