Abstract:
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said that Blizzard is about to face layoffs and related adjustments are "inevitable." However, he denied that the centralized announcement of multiple games at BlizzCon 2026 was in response to layoffs, saying that preparations for the exhibition content had already begun.
This news appeared a week after the end of BlizzCon 2026, and only a few days after the launch of the "World of Warcraft: Infinite" test. Schreier, who has written a book about the company's history based on multiple sources inside Blizzard, directly responded to questions about Blizzard's current situation on the 8-4 Play podcast.
The projects unveiled at this year's BlizzCon include "Diablo 5" planned to be released in the spring of 2029, the "StarCraft" universe open world shooting game expected to be launched in 2030, "World of Warcraft: Infinite" with a similar Classic+ direction, and the new campaign of "Warcraft III".
As to whether these announcements were related to layoffs, Schreier gave a negative answer. He said that Blizzard usually plans the content of the carnival about a year in advance, and the decision to release the new "StarCraft" was earlier than Asha Sharma took office. Blizzard President Joanna Faris has greater autonomy in such decisions, and the carnival arrangements are not directly determined by Microsoft.
Schreier also explained why Blizzard announced release dates several years apart. Blizzard has also made internal plans covering the next few years in the past, but it has not made these timelines public. "Diablo 4" and "Overwatch 2" have been postponed many times before, which led to cost reduction and other issues; he believes that clarifying the date in advance may be an attempt by Blizzard to strengthen project discipline.
According to Schreier, the relevant layoffs were initiated in July, and employees were notified of the news in June, and various contents of BlizzCon were already in the preparation stage before that. Therefore, he doesn't believe that the upcoming personnel changes prompted Blizzard to temporarily increase the game announcement.
Blizzard's talk of layoffs also coincides with news that Xbox may conduct a second round of layoffs this week. Microsoft planned to cut 3,200 jobs in the gaming department earlier this year, of which 1,600 people have left in the first round of adjustments and another 1,600 positions are reserved for subsequent processing. Blizzard was less affected by the first round of adjustments, but Schreier believes the company won't be able to completely avoid layoffs this time around.
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