by JR Cook - 2 months ago     show comments

BlizzCon 2026 just wrapped with some of the biggest announcements in years (Diablo 5, a new StarCraft shooter, World of Warcraft: Forever), but the celebration may be short-lived. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier says cuts at Blizzard by Xbox are “imminent”, speaking on the 8-4 podcast just days after what appears to be a hugely popular beta for World of Warcraft: Forever.

The timing feels brutal. Blizzard unveiled Diablo 5 with a 2029 release date, a new open-world StarCraft shooter, a new World of Warcraft game, and a fresh Warcraft 3 campaign at BlizzCon last week. But Schreier dismissed the idea that these announcements were timed to soften incoming cuts, saying Blizzard planned its BlizzCon showing a year in advance. “Pretty sure they were planning on announcing StarCraft there before Asha Sharma even took over,” he noted.

The Longer Timeline Isn’t About Cuts

Those distant release dates raised eyebrows (2030 for Starcraft is a long wait), but Schreier says they reflect internal discipline rather than desperation. Blizzard has always planned far ahead internally, he explained, they just never communicated those timelines publicly. “This is them saying we are going to actually ship when we say we’re going to ship rather than slipping,” he said.

The context matters here. Diablo IV and Overwatch both slipped their original windows, causing friction with Activision leadership and leading to cost-cutting measures under Bobby Kotick. Schreier believes the new approach is about regaining credibility on delivery, not reacting to layoffs that were already in motion months ago. “The layoffs started in July, people found out about them in June; all this BlizzCon stuff was prepared way before that.”

Second Wave of Xbox Cuts Expected This Week

Microsoft announced plans earlier this year to cut 3200 jobs from the Xbox division, with 1600 eliminated immediately and another 1600 earmarked for later. Blizzard seemed to dodge the first round and was even cited as Xbox’s “top performing” studio afterward, but reports suggest the second wave is hitting this week. Schreier’s sources indicate Blizzard won’t escape this time.

Despite the cuts, Schreier insists Blizzard president Johanna Faries has “a lot of autonomy on this stuff” and that the BlizzCon announcements were Blizzard-driven decisions, not Microsoft mandates. “This is not a Microsoft thing,” he said, referring to the scope of games revealed. That autonomy apparently doesn’t extend to headcount decisions, though.

For Blizzard fans riding high on BlizzCon excitement, this is a harsh reminder that the people building these games face an uncertain future even as the company announces its most ambitious slate in years.

Source: Eurogamer