Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick announced the company’s plans to hire more than 2,000 people to keep up with the future production needs. This is in addition to the 10,000 wokers it employs now.
Kotick shared the news in an interview with GamesBeat. Ironically (not really), the expansion plans come just a year and a half after the publisher let go of 800 employees. And this is not even counting those affected by the recent closure of the Versailles office. It could be hundreds, according to gamesindustry.biz. Earlier this year, the publisher also shut down its offices in The Hague, Netherlands.
Last year’s layoffs mostly affected Blizzard which had “no major frontline releases” in 2019. This promted Activision-Blizzard to restructure the company segment during what it calls a “transition year.”
Moving forward, the publisher plans to focus on its franchises including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, and Overwatch.