With layoffs affecting every division of Xbox, it’s somewhat of a relief that Blizzard Entertainment reportedly remains minimally affected. Then again, with 1,600 additional layoffs planned for this fiscal year, it could very well take some hits.
And as Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier noted in a new video, it’s far from the ideal environment to work in, especially when Blizzard allegedly has “tons of new projects in the works.” He referred to “new stuff” for Diablo and the long-rumored StarCraft shooter, which is apparently still in development.
“A lot of cool stuff happening at Blizzard right now. And now people have to continue working on that stuff without knowing if they’re still going to have jobs in 3 months, which is really awful and cruel position to be in.” That period is likely when the next financial results are revealed, and could thus be when Xbox plans to lay off more employees.
On a side note, Schreier claims that Diablo 4 is still a “successful game” that’s “making money” for Blizzard. It’s unknown whether it’s hitting “the exact numbers” desired, especially following expansions like the recent Lord of Hatred (check out our review), but for now, the ship seems steady. Whether that’s good enough for Xbox, as always, remains to be seen, but based on its entire “reset,” it’s certainly not afraid to rock the boat.
It probably won’t be long before we learn what Blizzard is up to since its annual convention, BlizzCon, is coming up. Running from September 12th to 13th, it could be the perfect place to announce its StarCraft shooter alongside other new projects. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months regardless.
