By 200 positions have been eliminated at the studio
- by Ben Kerry
We regret to bring you yet another AI-related story today, but a recent article from MobileGamer indicates that Activision Blizzard’s King team is part of the Microsoft Gaming enterprise experiencing a transition from human roles to AI.
It had earlier been stated by sources such as Bloomberg that Candy Crush creator King was going to dismiss approximately 200 employees as part of these recent layoffs – and now this latest report indicates that “a significant number of the personnel affected will essentially be substituted by the AI tools they developed and instructed”.
MobileGamer notes that anonymous sources have informed them that “numerous level design and user research personnel, along with nearly half of the London-based Farm Heroes Saga team, are set to be laid off”. The sources further mention that those level designers and user research team members “have dedicated the last few years” to constructing AI tools intended to expedite the entire process – tools that have now contributed to their employment terminations.
In addition to these sources addressing AI’s influence on these job losses, the outlet has acquired an internal memo circulated to King staff as the layoffs began. We will share the details of that internal memo below:
“Why is this occurring?
The industry is evolving rapidly, and our business has not been thriving.
When this happens, we must not only examine external factors, such as competitors and the market, but also introspect.
As previously mentioned, we are implementing several adjustments to revitalize business growth. Unlocking numerous AI tools is one recent illustration. Increasing our marketing investment this year is another.
We are fortunate to have many skilled individuals at King. However, we also face a shared challenge: the size and structure of the company often impede progress.
Consequently, we intend to streamline the organization – fewer levels, fewer overlapping responsibilities, less time spent on alignment, fewer individuals in meetings, fewer stakeholders for each project.
Numerous leaders throughout King have been tasked with restructuring their teams to be more compact overall. Some new positions will be created in these restructurings, and there will be some rebalancing of personnel across King. Yet overall, King will become a smaller entity.”
It’s crucial to mention that we cannot independently verify this internal memo, and this information is currently based on reports, so please keep this in consideration. However, only yesterday we discussed a very real Xbox job posting that evidently utilized AI in its imagery – Microsoft is making significant strides in this direction, and it appears to impact multiple sectors of its overall operations, possibly including gaming divisions like King, as suggested in this report.
Please maintain a respectful tone and discuss this report in the comments section below.
[source mobilegamer.biz]
Ben is a News Journalist at Pure Xbox and enjoys action, racing, and straightforward shooting in any Xbox game he encounters. When he’s not gripping an Xbox controller as if it were a life-or-death scenario, Ben enjoys listening to music that is outdated for his age, watching football on television, and likely dining out somewhere.