Storm clouds are gathering above Activision Blizzard, a portent of bad sales and dire predictions: The publisher is expected to cut “hundreds” of jobs this week in an attempt to turn the company’s fortunes around.
Activision Blizzard, which handles World of Warcraft, has been in a financial slump for a while now. The company acknowledged that formerly hot properties like Overwatch and Hearthstone were seeing flat sales, and the loss of Destiny 2 back to Bungie left a big hole in future prospects. Industry analysts predicted that the company will see a two percent drop in sales in 2019.
“Employees at both Activision and Blizzard have told me they’ve been coming into work every day with no clue what might happen,” tweeted Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier. “Horrible, horrible news.”
We’ve seen indications that Blizzard has been struggling as of late, with poorer sales last year, the ousting of its CFO, the loss of former president Mike Morhaime, and the move to scale back its work on Heroes of the Storm.
The job cuts are expected to be made next Tuesday, when the company makes its Q4 2018 report. The company’s stock has been cut in half over the past six months:
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