Blizzard has laid off about 50 employees related to live events, including esports, that focus on digital events in a post-pandemic world, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
It’s clear that Blizzard could shift the focus to more digital events, as BlizzConline 2021 saw a significant number of viewers over the course of the two-day festival. Some announcements and trailers garnered more than 1 million views, with hundreds of thousands participating to view the show live or related content.
A spokesperson for the Blizzard company addressed the postponement:
“Increasingly, gamers choose to connect digitally to our games and esports equipment, just as traditional sports, entertainment and broadcast industries have had to adapt their business due to the impact of the pandemic on live events. ».
– –Announcer, blizzard
Newest from Blizzard World of warcraft The Arena World Cup has seen quite a few notable spectators this year, which only confirms Blizzards’ view that digital events have been overwhelmingly successful due to the live staging of the events. Blizzard will offer affected employees at least 90 days of severance pay and health benefits for one year.
A new gaming company, Dreamhaven, was recently founded by former Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime and is now home to many former Blizzard employees who have left the studio for various reasons (although some of them point to the changes that Activision is making. doing in the implemented internal culture). by Blizzard). . While these recent layoffs weren’t employees to volunteer, they can find comfort elsewhere, similar to Dreamhaven, where the camaraderie and “Blizzard Classic” feel still lives on.
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