Game developer Activision Blizzard announced a major round of layoffs following during its fiscal 2018 earnings report on Tuesday. The company will lay off eight percent of its global workforce\u2014with over 9,000 employees currently listed on the company’s website<\/a>, that represents a headcount reduction of over 700 employees. <\/p>
The layoffs had been rumored in the gaming community<\/a> for several days, and, earlier today, Kotaku reporter Jason Schreier reported that Blizzard employees were bracing for the layoffs<\/a>. <\/p>
Related: <\/strong>Major gaming stocks take a hit due to battle royale games<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>
However, revenues have been under pressure following the company’s split from Bungie<\/a>, with which it had developed Destiny 2<\/em>. Activision Blizzard has also seen weaker performance from tentpole titles including Hearthstone<\/em> and Overwatch<\/em>. As gamers increasingly flock to battle royale offerings like Apex Legends<\/em> and Fortnite: Battle Royale<\/em>, Activision Blizzard has struggled to keep pace.<\/p>