Imminent Cuts at Blizzard Following BlizzCon 2026 and Popular World of Warcraft Beta
- Report indicates imminent layoffs at Blizzard following BlizzCon 2026.
- Jason Schreier confirmed in a podcast that Blizzard’s layoffs are forthcoming.
- Blizzard announced several new titles at BlizzCon, unrelated to expected cuts.
Following the recent announcement-heavy BlizzCon 2026 and the success of the beta for World of Warcraft: Forever, reports suggest that job cuts at Blizzard, initiated by Xbox, are “imminent”.
This information comes from Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, who cited multiple contacts in the gaming industry. During a recent episode of the 8-4 podcast, Schreier stated, “To your point: yes the Blizzard layoffs are coming and imminent.”
When asked by former Polygon journalist Mike McWhertor if the numerous game announcements at BlizzCon signaled looming workforce cuts, Schreier clarified that he does not believe the announcements were an attempt to mitigate cuts. He mentioned, “Pretty sure they were planning on announcing StarCraft there before Asha Sharma even took over.” Blizzard revealed several upcoming titles, including Diablo 5 and a new StarCraft open-world shooter, with some release dates pushing into 2030.
Schreier pointed out that Blizzard has a history of planning projects far in advance, asserting that the company aims to adhere to announced release windows. “This is them saying we are going to actually ship when we say we’re going to ship rather than slipping,” he remarked.
He also noted that Blizzard faced challenges due to delays in releasing Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2, which in turn led to financial pressure from Activision. The current strategy appears to be a measure of internal discipline in response to past issues.
Regarding the recent announcements, Schreier expressed confidence in Blizzard’s new president, Johanna Faries, claiming she operates with “a lot of autonomy.” He emphasized that the BlizzCon announcements were not influenced by Microsoft and stated, “I don’t think this was because of [impending cuts]. The layoffs started in July, people found out about them in June; all this BlizzCon stuff was prepared way before that.”
Schreier’s warning about imminent layoffs aligns with earlier reports indicating a second wave of cuts within the Xbox division, which originally planned to eliminate 3,200 positions. In a previous round, 1,600 roles were cut, with an additional 1,600 slated for the future. Blizzard reportedly remained unaffected by the first round of layoffs and was deemed Xbox’s “top performing” studio, though its status in light of the impending cuts remains uncertain.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
