Tuesday marked another dark day for the teams at Blizzard once again, with news coming out that the studio is being hit with more layoffs. Multiple sources confirm that numerous employees working on Hearthstone have been let go, with affected workers implying that the entire team is being restructured. The reports include statements that this occurred without notice, which is definitely not good news for the studio’s overall retention – not that the company has been working particularly hard this year to retain workers.
According to Kotaku’s reporting, 10 people – including a tools engineer who’d been at Blizzard for 18 years, somebody you’d think would be shifted to another team – were affected. “Organizational changes were made to the Hearthstone team; as a result a small number of roles have become redundant,” Blizzard’s official statement reads.
Surely not coincidentally, Chris Metzen has apparently picked up the new title of Executive Creative Director for the Warcraft universe, following on from his “advisory” role announced last December, which itself followed his departure back in 2016. The announcement states that his current focus is on helping the World of Warcraft team, but the timing – one team suffering extensive layoffs while a well-known person is promoted to an even larger leadership role – isn’t great.
Our condolences to the members of Hearthstone’s staff being let go without warning.
New round of layoffs at Blizzard, heard from multiple sources.https://t.co/54IGKdhVsI
— Valentine Powell 💙🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@valentine_irl) September 26, 2023
It’s been amazing working on Warcraft again. Like coming home. The stories we’re developing right now – how the world unfolds over the next few years… Well, I can’t wait for y’all to see where we’re headed.
SOON… :) https://t.co/7hPIR8YEr0
— Chris Metzen (@ChrisMetzen) September 26, 2023
