Utilizing its newfound momentum in 2021, it is no surprise that Blizzard, as a company, has been on a mission to make up for the lost time that was last year. Coming out of the starting line with announcements including the highly rumored Diablo 2 Resurrected, the sequel to the immensely popular Overwatch 2, and an unknown IP currently in its planning stages, the company has experienced high amounts of financial gain over the years.
Long before the Blizzcon announcements, it was reported that Activision Blizzard was highly profitable as a company, with its increase in sales and revenue reaching profits that the company hasn’t seen in years. With the finances of Blizzard plus the number of projects in the work for the company expected to release this year, one huge overhaul is expected to be made in due time. Specifically, the release of several of its employees.
According to Bloomberg reporter, Jason Schreier, Blizzard has reportedly laid off 50 of its staff in its live events departments despite having one of its most successful years in 2020. Citing a strategic shift post-pandemic, the layoffs are related to its various departments that handled esports and other live events. According to a Blizzard spokesperson, its players are slowly shifting to a digital market, with esports being one of the many departments having to adjust from a live setting to that of a virtual setting.
With the lack of live events due to the effects of the pandemic, Blizzard’s decision to shift its focus to online events is an understandable choice from a business perspective. It was a decision that several esports teams began to make, such as the Overwatch League team Los Angeles Valiant’s decision to drop its entire roster in January. Last month’s Blizzcon being an online-only event was Blizzard itself testing the waters on how to embrace connecting with its audience digitally as opposed to its traditional hands-on events pre-pandemic. While the layoffs are unfortunate, Blizzard is keen to adapt to the circumstances as other businesses prepare for a post-pandemic world.
Blizzard’s main concern is aiming to find the perfect balance between connecting with its player base while also minimizing losses. The company can afford to be more transparent with the players, especially with the release of Overwatch 2 hanging over the company like a cloud. With Blizzard’s desire to shift to a more “digital” environment, it will be up to Blizzard to understand how to capture the same magic that made Overwatch popular into its sequel.
Source: Bloomberg
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