Recently, Microsoft moved to lay off almost 2,000 employees, many of which were from the titan’s gaming subsidiaries – including the recently acquired Activision Blizzard. One label hit particularly hard by these layoffs was Toys for Bob, a 35-year-old studio famed for the creation of the Skylanders series and most recently known for working on the Modern Warfare franchise and Call of Duty: Warzone.
It was recently revealed by the San Francisco Chronicle that Toys for Bob’s office in Novato, California – the company’s headquarters – will be shut down, according to a state filing.
What’s Happening at Activision?
In recent weeks, teams at Activision Blizzard have been fearful for the future of their livelihoods – and many have lost their jobs outright. In a vast wave of layoffs, Activision Blizzard’s teams were slashed, with a huge blow being struck to the company’s esports teams especially.
Toys for Bob was impacted by a wave of layoffs that saw 162 Bay Area workers dismissed, the San Francisco Chronicle confirmed. Not only that but it was referenced that the company’s Bay Area office has been scheduled for closure. It seems that Toys for Bob is pivoting to a remote working model like Sledgehammer Games recently did, and that the team could be downsizing into a smaller office – which is what’s on the cards for Sledgehammer, as we exclusively revealed last month.
This has already been an awful year for the games industry in terms of financial woes, layoffs, and studios closing. It’s not yet known what the future of Toys for Bob looks like, but sources have suggested that the core studio is running as normal with ‘a majority of staff’ moving to a remote model.
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