Blizzard Entertainment lay off 600 staff members, where 60 of them were actively involved in game development. This cut comes as part of a global reduction of staff due to "changing needs".
The press release says in the very first paragraph that the World of WarCraft development team will not be impacted.
With the release of Diablo III coming seemingly closer, it can be speculated that some of the layoffs are developers for the Sanctuary-themed game.
"However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company"
- “Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.- Mike Morhaime, Blizzard CEO
- “Knowing that, it still does not make letting go of some of our team members any easier. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the people impacted by today’s announcement, we’re proud of the contributions they made here at Blizzard, and we wish them well as they move forward.”
Blizzard noted that its development and publishing schedule will not be impacted by the layoffs.
The press release says the company will announce specific release plans for Diablo III in the near future, and that they are continuing to drive aggressively toward beta testing for World of WarCraft: Mists of Pandaria, Blizzard DOTA and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.
Source: BusinessWire.com via GameSpot.com
