Not their last game, anyway, it’s impossible to know exactly how many for each studio and for what jobs (mostly were non developers), the only figure we know for sure is 8% of the total organisation, which means roughly the double for ABK (it had 10-12k people overall), which is also half of standard consolidation layoffs in the same industry (30%). It’s no moral excuse obviously, but it was more surgical than most post merger restructures, we should never forget all these companies are only looking at numbers.
we already saw how that thing messed up Halo infinite dont know about other games but Microsoft tend to rely on contractor thing more than anyone else either way they r too much reliant on that
I think you’re massively exaggerating the issue - I mean so far as “completely aliened the fanbase” - are we looking at the same fanbase?
Sure, the game could be pretty difficult at times and that is something that should be scaled back for future entries - but from my experience and from what I have seen online - the worst of this issue is born from the games rather extreme 100% requirements forcing dedicated players to run into these difficulty issues headfirst. Remove or make the Nsanely perfect relics optional and the issue is 90% resolved right there. I’d completely agree that these issues had knock on effects that hindered the game in frustrating ways - but they are all so easily fixed and what is there is absolutely great. The idea that a studio that created an overall incredible game should be shut down based on some relatively minor and easily corrected issues is baffling.
I’ve always wondered if part of the problem for Crash 4 was suddenly having to justify being a full price experience. The Crash remakes were 3 games in one reduced price bundle - and their relatively shorter length compared to modern games made it clear why. Crash 4 was a full price game and needed the content and the length to justify it. I’d be pretty interested to see what Toys for Bob could do if they had access to a service like game pass and a bit more flexibility on these matters. It’s part of why I have been excited to see them under Xbox.
Beyond that, I think it’s clear Crash Team Rumble was not a financial hit but I’ve always been under the assumption this was a game born from a push from Activision more than anything else. Wouldn’t be the first studio Microsoft acquired to be forced into an unsuccessful GaaS for the sake of profitability.
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Absolutely, between MW3s good but still lower performance, the whole ABK scandals and the current gaming climate, this would be happening with or without an acquisition but like you said, doesn’t make it any better
The overreaction made me laugh, thanks
Just because they may have went a bit too far in difficulty doesn’t mean they should be shut down, wtf are you talking about dude
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And yet they are shutting down. Not my decision.
Well what I’m saying here is really… Toys For Bob being on its way to a complete shut down is not a surprise to anyone who’s seriously played the games. No matter how you look at them, they raised the challenge, grind and competition in such a way that it took the Crash games away from its true audience — kids and family. Anyone who played Crash Team Rumble in early access (spending $40 on it) knew right away it was the end for Toys for Bob. There was no way out of this mess. Crash 4 could have been just a mistake, but Crash Team Rumble proved they were not the future of the IP. BTW I still have no idea where my $40 went.
Maybe shutdown is too far, but a serious restructure was certainly needed: aside from critical reception and fans justified issues about games, the reality is they had two consecutive bombs, no studio gets away unscathed from it. MS acquisition never meant fantasyland, but realistic planning and sustainability, ABK was built from the ground up for quick cash grabs since a decade (and more) and its time was up, lower performace studios are always the first victims (TfB, Sledgehammer and many Blizzard teams).
Where are you seeing they are shutting down?
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It would be considered a complete disappointment if MS didn’t purchase ABK. It did pretty bad for COD game.
We’d probably see even more people laid off if the ABK shareholders were still in charge, that’s the sad part.
It’s going to be a tough tough year for people trying to create these great games for us.
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Sad. I hope they join or find better workplace than they were in ABK
are there any number for the headcount of all three of Activision, Blizzard and King from December or so of last year before the layoffs?
According to this article, roughly 17k as of may 2023:
Assuming most of 1900 layoffs were ABK, it’s a bit more than 10% of overall, 1/3 of standard merger layoffs (in the same industry, so high redundancy). With the former trajectory under Bobby, I’d say it would have been worse and maybe a couple of studios would have been shutdown.
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Yeah, Activision had rounds of layoffs even when they were doing well (5% in late 2017, 8% in late 2019, a minor one in late 2021). There’s no way that in this environment where everybody else does layoffs, Bobby would keep everyone onboard, particularly after how many people got hired by ABK between January 2022 and October 2023.
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We’re seeing this so consistently across corporations in America.
This could be a case of Microsoft “sucking”. But it’s happening all over the industry and other industries.
I think it would be a valid question to ask if shareholder expectations are becoming more and more unrealistic.
I work in Oil and Gas, and there are mass hirings and mass firings that coincide with the boom and bust cycle of the industry. This is to make shareholders happy. But the best thing to do for our industry is to have a more even keel approach in preparation for the cycles. So putting employees on furlough during the bust cycles and then having them work full-time during boom cycles would save a whole lot of money in recruitment and training. It would be healthier for the corporation to do so but shareholders don’t like that. So in our industry I see how shareholders hurt corporations, the industry, and the economy just so they could maximize their dividends.
Anyways mods, if this is outside the topic of the thread feel free to delete this post.
I’m seeing a pattern across corporations and industries and I don’t think it would be wise to not question the entire system at this point.
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When the merger was announced in January 2022, ABK was stated to be around 10,000. By the time the deal closed it was around 17,000 per the sources posted above. Phil’s memo from yesterday roughly verifies these numbers. His stated 22,000 was the roughly 5000 between XGS and Zenimax + the 17k from ABK.
Even post layoffs ABK is significantly larger than when MS initiated the acquisition.
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I don’t understand the financial sense to almost double the headcount after selling the company, it would only mean higher costs and bigger redundancy. ABK was really mismanaged and yesterday was a wake up call for everyone.
That CoD factory is a cruel mistress.
Even considering that, the quality went also down for COD games with the usual release schedule, it’s not like last two COD games were bigger and/or better than the past . It only screams mismanagement.
Source for the 10k number:
Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush,” in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.
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2009-2022 Employee numbers:
2021
2022
Why did ABK go on such an enormous hiring spree in 2022? The last time they added that many employees was when they acquired King back in 2016.
Was it the post-COVID boom?
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https://www.youtube.com/live/7lhGVsfhFZw?si=P0WMFfFyZ-DKjuku
Hoeg Law discussing the layoffs.
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