Microsoft's 200 laid-off King devs are reportedly being replaced by AI they helped build, while its 'absolute 's***show' HR department looks away and whistles
Morale is, predictably, "in the gutter."

If you needed further evidence we live in a dystopia an editor would chuck out for being too on-the-nose, try this: per sources spoken to by MobileGamer.biz, laid-off staff at social-game dev King (as in Activision Blizzard King) are being replaced by AI. The AI they helped build, in fact.
If you can cast your mind back to two weeks ago, Microsoft began its most recent bout of bloodletting—which eventually sacrificed 9,000 jobs at the altar of corporate "agility"—with around 200 layoffs at King, which it got its hands on after spending slightly more than the nominal GDP of Myanmar to acquire Activision Blizzard and all to which it was suzerain.
That was about 10% of King's workforce, who no doubt felt a lot better about the whole thing when Xbox boss Phil Spencer told them that "we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before," and that Microsoft's "platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger."
Speaking anonymously, King staff told MobileGamer "Most of [the] level design [team] has been wiped, which is crazy since they've spent months building tools to craft levels quicker. Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams."
The same goes for King's narrative copyrighting team, which was reportedly also hard-hit by the layoffs. "The copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating.
"The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting," said the source, "but it’s all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall," a sentiment backed up by Spencer's own farewell letter.
Anonymous King staff called the move to axe developers "crazy," adding that "we need more hands and less leadership." The source also alleged that devs hit by layoffs are often those who have expressed "dissatisfaction with the company or processes."
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It sounds like staff aren't exactly keen on bringing up these kinds of issues to company HR. "King HR is an absolute shitshow and has been for years," said one staffer, calling it "An extreme example of an HR department whose role it is to protect the company, not the staff."
King's senior leadership team has, apparently, made improving company morale a "top priority" in the wake of an employee survey that went out before the layoffs happened. Unsurprisingly, those layoffs didn't help, and combined with the ongoing "constant but low attrition" among staff, morale is reportedly "now in the gutter."
It's all quite grimly predictable, of course—no one would expect sky-high morale after a big round of layoffs, but it's made all the worse by Microsoft touting the fact that it's actually doing better than ever right now.
It's hard not to feel like an old, uneasy balance between corporate avarice and the wellbeing of staff has been completely thrown out the window, and workers are left to cling to whatever they can while execs scarf down every drop of profit in reach with zero regard for the long-term wellbeing of the people they're responsible for. Indeed, the promise of AI seems to be that executives won't have to be responsible for anything so pesky as human beings for much longer.
These are unpleasant times. I've reached out to Microsoft and Activision for comment on this story, and I'll update if I hear back.
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One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.
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