Blizzard ends new content development for Warcraft Rumble and lays off staff: Former employee says 'most' of the team has been let go

Gryphon Rider — (Image credit: Blizzard)

Less than a year after making its debut on PC, the real-time strategy game Warcraft Rumble has reached the end of the line. Blizzard announced today that it's made the "extremely hard decision" to end new content releases for the game, although it promised that "updates focused on regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes" will continue.

"Warcraft Rumble began development nine years ago as a love letter to Azeroth and launched back in 2023, reflecting input from enthusiastic players around the globe and the effort of a passionate team—some of whom continue to support Rumble or other Blizzard games, and some we’ve had to sadly part ways with," Blizzard wrote.

"Since launch, Rumble has struggled to find its footing relative to our ambition for its long-term success, and for some time now the team has been listening to player feedback, refocusing in certain areas, and exploring different options. Some of that work showed signs of progress, but ultimately wasn’t enough to put the game on a path to sustainability."

Warcraft Rumble caused a bit of a stir when it was announced in 2023 as Blizzard's first new RTS in years—Warcraft is possibly the most famous and influential RTS of all time, after all—but excitement was muted by the fact that it was a free-to-play mobile game.

And yes, the end of new content development for Warcraft Rumble means layoffs at Blizzard, part of the wider cut of 9,000 employees Microsoft announced earlier today. While the number of Blizzard employees being put out of work hasn't been announced, LinkedIn messages posted by multiple former Warcraft Rumble developers make it sound like the cuts run deep: Senior software engineer AJ Davis wrote that "most of the Warcraft Rumble team" was laid off, while 3D character artist Angelo B. said the layoffs impacted his entire team.

Along with the layoffs, Microsoft also cancelled Rare's Everwild project, an unannounced MMO that's been in development at ZeniMax Online Studios since 2018, and perhaps most notably, the Perfect Dark reboot announced in 2020. Perfect Dark developer The Initiative was also closed, and The Elder Scrolls Online game director Matt Firor, who has headed up ZeniMax Online Studios since it was founded in 2007, is leaving the company. It's been a day, alright.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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