Activision has laid off 30 full-time employees working in publishing in its Minneapolis branch, to prepare for a smaller game roster next year. In a prepared statement to Joystiq, an Activision spokesperson said the realignment is due to expectations that the Minneapolis division “will release fewer games based on third-party licenses than we released during 2012.” The spokesperson also pointed out that this kind of move is common: “Like any successful business, Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues – this is an ongoing process.”
Activision Minneapolis has published third-party licensed games including Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010, GoldenEye 007 and GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, and this year's The Amazing Spider-Man, as well as Prototype 2. We can expect the 2013 line-up to be a little leaner.
As for the staff themselves, Activision is at least trying to soften the blow of people losing their jobs so that the company can “better reflect [its] slate and the market opportunities.” The spokesperson wrote in the statement that the 30 individuals would be relocated within the company itself in all conceivable cases: “We are working to redirect those employees that are impacted to other parts of the company where possible, as well as offering them outplacement counseling services.”
