Treyarch, SHG, Raven & more CoD studios affected by Microsoft layoffs

After the significant acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion, Microsoft have announced mass layoffs, impacting several developers involved in the Call of Duty franchise.

In recent times, the entertainment industry – including video games – has suffered a massive number of layoffs leaving many developers and professionals out of work. Among these companies are Amazon, Twitch, Google, and most recently Activision Blizzard King.

Despite the multi-billion dollar acquisition from Microsoft, Activision Blizzard was massively hit by layoffs, affecting its gaming teams, and mainly, employees within Activision Blizzard.

Developers across all of Activision’s Call of Duty studios were affected, including but not limited to Infinity Ward, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games.

Also there are now posts from some who work at Solid State Studios, the team working on Warzone Mobile, about lay offs.

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) January 25, 2024

Despite sharing the news about their status, former Treyarch CoD Systems Designer Tyler Diaz shared with the community that while they “might not be involved anymore” they can “absolutely promise… that the future of Call of Duty is bright.”

Former Raven Software Associate Community Manager, Austin O’Brien, communicated, “I hope the CoD community understands that I prioritized your voices every single chance that I got.” And followed, “There was never a day I didn’t wake up and do my best to serve y’all. Did it always work? No, because I’m just one person. But dammit, I tried!”

Unfortunately, other developers found out they lost their team through social media, as Michael Guerra, Senior QA Lead at SHG, expressed, “I lost basically my entire team. I am at a loss for words right now.”

Similarly, Matt Hansen, formerly from High Moon Studios shared, “I have been affected by today’s layoffs. I’m devastated and heartbroken, but can’t say I’m surprised.”

While it remains to be seen what plans Microsoft and Activision have for the future of Call of Duty, the unexpected departure of developers who played a crucial role in the franchise’s success leads to uncertainty.

For more on Call of Duty, be sure to check out if CoD will be an Xbox exclusive, or how Microsoft plan to bring the franchise to Nintendo.