Even the massive money-making game publisher Activision lays off people from time to time, as the company confirmed today that they’ve cut about 30 jobs from their global work force. Kotaku first heard that the cuts were affecting Treyarch, the studio behind Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but a spokesperson for Activision said that a good number of the cuts were from outside of Treyarch, from the parts of the company involved with licensed games.
Here’s the company’s statement:
“Like any successful business, Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues — this is an ongoing process. In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on licence properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate. Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one per cent of Activision Blizzard’s employee population. We are offering those employees who are impacted outplacement counseling services.”
Fewer licensed games?
Activision’s licensed games line-up has included annual or semi-annual entries in the James Bond, Transformers, Cabela (hunting) and Spider-Man. The company is adding a Walking Dead game and a Deadpool game to its roster this year and is also making a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They also put a Family Guy game out last year. So how does Activision wind up with fewer licensed games this year? It seems that some of those licenses will be taking a rest. The smart money is on Bond being done. Could there be more? Activision’s not talking about that status of any of its licenses, James Bond or otherwise.
As for the cuts at Treyarch that are part of those 30-or-so layoffs, Activision notes that: “Now that we have launched Black Op II, we are taking a minimal reduction in staff to better align our development talent against the needs of DLC development. The release of the DLC will not be impacted by this move.”
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