Microsoft gaming’s layoffs hit Skylanders studio ‘Toys for Bob’, let go 86 workers

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft, which announced to lay off about 1,900 employees at gaming company Activision Blizzard it acquired recently, as well as at Xbox, has laid off 86 workers from the Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Skylanders studio ‘Toys for Bob’.

According to Eurogamer, the layoffs at the gaming studio are much higher than the original estimate of 35 people, which accounted for 30 to 40 per cent of its workforce.

Toys for Bob is well-known for its work on the recent revivals of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, as well as its contributions to the development of Call of Duty.

As per recent state filings, Toys for Bob’s physical office will also be closing, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notification also confirmed that 76 employees from fellow Activision developer Sledgehammer Games have been laid off.

Last month, the tech giant announced to lay off at least 1,900 employees from Activision Blizzard and Xbox, affecting around 8 per cent of the overall Microsoft gaming division that has some 22,000 employees.

Microsoft completed its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October last year, after a long battle with regulators in the UK and the US.

Meanwhile, video game developer Riot Games has announced to eliminate about 530 roles globally, which represents around 11 per cent of its workforce, with the biggest impact to teams outside of core development.