In EA it comes according to Bloomberg employing approximately 670 people, which represents five percent of the total workforce. According to the latest published data from last March, the company employed 13,400 people.
In an official statement to regulators, the company’s representatives said that its board of directors had approved the restructuring plan. He not only expects to reduce the number of employees, but also to close certain establishments and offices.
EA is best known for its multi-part series such as Need for Speed, Medal of Honor, The Sims and Harry Potter. They are also among the most successful creators of sports simulators on the market.
PlayStation’s gaming division shakes up, Sony lays off
Interest in video games is fading
A similar trend can be observed with other big players in the field of video games. Practically everyone makes the same argument.
They explain the current wave of layoffs by how the video game industry is changing. During the coronavirus pandemic, games enjoyed unprecedented popularity because people had to spend time at home. But that changed, and so interest in video games waned.
Although the video game market saw a slight growth of 0.6 percent last year, the entire industry fell by five percent in 2022 – after the end of tough measures against the spread of the coronavirus. For the sake of completeness, let’s add that the total turnover of the video game market in 2022 was 184 billion dollars (approximately 4.3 trillion crowns).
Sony lays off even more people
Sony also announced massive layoffs within its gaming division. 900 people will lose their jobs, which represents according to Bloomberg eight percent of the gaming division’s employees. In addition, as part of the savings, the branch located in London will be completely abolished.
After 28 years in the company, even the head of the game division, Jim Ryan, quits, although he himself justifies it by the fact that he cannot balance his personal and work life.
It was he who announced to the employees that the gaming division would be slimming down. “We have had several meetings with the management of the company in recent months. And after careful consideration of many factors, we came to the conclusion that changes needed to be made in order for the company to continue to grow,” said Ryan.
The investigation in Sony’s gaming division is also expected to touch major American development studios, such as Insomniac Games, creators of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Naughty Dog, creators of the popular title The Last of Us.
Savings package according to Microsoft
At the end of January, the American Microsoft also announced a savings package in its gaming division. The cuts also represent approximately eight percent of the employees of the games division, but in the case of the American software giant it is 1,900 people.
Microsoft representatives announced the layoffs only a few months after the largest gaming deal worth $69 billion (CZK 1.57 trillion) was completed. The American giant absorbed the game studio Activision Blizzard last October. Primarily, the layoffs should concern Activision’s employees, he said server The Verge.
However, thanks to the merger of the two companies, Microsoft became the owner of a number of famous names in the gaming world – to mention at least Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot and StarCraft.
Microsoft announced plans to buy the game studio as early as January 2022, but due to struggles with regulators, the deal was only completed last fall.
Diablo IV TrailerVideo: Creators Archive
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An earthquake in the technology sector
Server Layoffs.fyi reports that more than 262,595 jobs were cut in the technology sector last year. It is this site that specializes in recording information about layoffs in technology companies.
Although February is not even over yet, this year there are already 49,386 canceled positions in 186 companies. For comparison: in 2022, a total of 164,969 jobs were cut over the entire 12 months.
Companies such as Xiaomi, Meta, Twitter, HP and many others have decided to lay off their jobs.
The biggest gaming store has a bitter ending. Microsoft to lay off 1,900 people
2024-03-01 11:32:47
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