The gaming community is shocked to hear that Activision Blizzard has reportedly let go of 60 out of the 72 staff in their esports division, leaving just 12 employees. This news comes just a few days after Microsoft revealed that 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees had been laid off. It is possible that they were waiting for the Call of Duty League Major in Boston to end to break the bad news to their employees.
Fans on social media are now bashing the decision, pointing out that some of the best workers are now left unemployed. With only 12 employees in Activision Blizzard’s esports department, some fans have accepted that the end of Call of Duty League is officially near.
Activision Blizzard removes 83% of its staff from esports division
On January 28th, Microsoft revealed that 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees had been laid off and now, as per ESI, Activision Blizzard has laid off 60 out of the 72 staff in their esports division. Now, only 12 employees remain in the company’s esports department.
The news has been very disappointing for the fans, especially the news of the full-time observing staff being laid off. Calling the staff the backbone of the Call of Duty League would be an understatement as they highlighted every single play, and ensured a smooth running of the broadcast. Their incredible work has been praised on many occasions but now it seems like their journey has come to an end.
Is this the end of Call of Duty League?
Call of Duty League (CDL) was announced in 2019 with its inaugural season starting in 2020. Over the past few years, the league managed to become one of the most popular professional esports leagues of all time. Unfortunately, with core employees out, fans believe that this could be CDL’s final year. The Call of Duty franchise, which will soon witness some major updates, has remained one of the most popular competitive FPS games of all time so fans find it strange that the company is showing ignorance towards its esports department.
How does a company that owns the biggest FPS game in history with so many big-time pros have such lack of respect for its Esports side?
I don’t understand .
— MW2 OG (@TheMW2Ghost) January 30, 2024
And people said Microsoft purchasing the company would make it better……. It did not
— Killzoid (@KillzoidCOD) January 30, 2024
12 employees for the esports side. Multi billion dollar company still can’t respect the esports side of their games.
CDL may be cooked after this decision
— 𝓢𝓴𝔂𝓮~ ♡ (@Lxcyna) January 30, 2024
This is just scuminess.
— Viking (@Viking2348) January 30, 2024
F for the CDL.. it's been a good run
— Pr0digyZRX (@Pr0digyZRX) January 30, 2024
Rumors suggest that the ESL FaceIt Group, which controls the Call of Duty Challengers scene and Overwatch, will now takeover CDL but for the fans, it will never be the same. The layoffs come roughly three months after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $75.4 billion.
