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Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson has managed to glean information from a recent Sledgehammer Games "Town Hall" meeting—his source(s) allege that the Activision subsidiary is set for some major restructuring. Last week, Microsoft announced widespread cuts across its Xbox and Activision Blizzard departments—according to Henderson's investigations: "30% of Sledgehammer Games staff have lost their jobs." An earlier version of his report outlines a return to a "Work From Home" model for the rest of 2024, given that the studio is allegedly vacating their current space (located in Foster City, California). He suggested that this is a temporary measure: "until a new office is found near its current location. It's expected that employees will be working from home until the end of 2024."
Insider Gaming claims that it sources have leaked Activision's future plans for their highly prized Call of Duty franchise—despite layoffs and adjusted work conditions, the company's top brass are sticking with a regular release schedule: It's a move that comes at an interesting time for Sledgehammer Games, as it it was also announced during the Town Hall that the studio would be the main developer for Activision's 2027 Call of Duty title. Infinity Ward will be heading Call of Duty 2026, understood to be in the Modern Warfare universe. Call of Duty 2025 is currently planned to be a semi-futuristic Black Ops 2 sequel under the codename Saturn."
Activision's late 2023 "return-to-office mandate" for QA workers has stirred up a lot of frustration—many quality assurance staffers spent significant time and funds in efforts to relocate closer to Activision office locations. Henderson stated that this has affected: "an undisclosed number of QA employees, who have had to either relocate to facilitate the change or leave the company."
An ABK Workers Alliance spokesperson was asked to comment on Activision's contradictory policies: "The company moving the Sledgehammer team to a temporary remote working environment is an indication that they have the ability to grant remote work to the QA employees who have requested it due to disability, distance, or other factors, but are choosing not to."
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
Insider Gaming claims that it sources have leaked Activision's future plans for their highly prized Call of Duty franchise—despite layoffs and adjusted work conditions, the company's top brass are sticking with a regular release schedule: It's a move that comes at an interesting time for Sledgehammer Games, as it it was also announced during the Town Hall that the studio would be the main developer for Activision's 2027 Call of Duty title. Infinity Ward will be heading Call of Duty 2026, understood to be in the Modern Warfare universe. Call of Duty 2025 is currently planned to be a semi-futuristic Black Ops 2 sequel under the codename Saturn."
Activision's late 2023 "return-to-office mandate" for QA workers has stirred up a lot of frustration—many quality assurance staffers spent significant time and funds in efforts to relocate closer to Activision office locations. Henderson stated that this has affected: "an undisclosed number of QA employees, who have had to either relocate to facilitate the change or leave the company."
An ABK Workers Alliance spokesperson was asked to comment on Activision's contradictory policies: "The company moving the Sledgehammer team to a temporary remote working environment is an indication that they have the ability to grant remote work to the QA employees who have requested it due to disability, distance, or other factors, but are choosing not to."
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
