IGDA Offers Help to Laid Off Activision Blizzard Employees

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) wants to help the nearly 800 employees laid off from video game publisher Activision Blizzard this week, it said in a blog post on Wednesday.

The organization’s chapters in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and Seattle are working on events and resources for their local communities, it said. The IDGA’s headquarters is also helping companies looking to hire in those communities by offering to post openings in its Career Center . Companies with at least 10 open job positions in an area impacted by the layoffs can make up to 20 free basic postings and up to 20 resume purchases. Meanwhile, IDGA studio affiliates can make up to 20 additional free enhanced postings and up to 40 resume purchases regardless of location.

The said any company looking to take advantage of this offer should email it at membership@igda.org with a link to its job openings.

is laying off about 775 employees — 8% of its total workforce. The publisher said it is “de-prioritizing initiatives that are not meeting expectations and reducing certain non-development and administrative-related costs across the business” during an earnings call of Tuesday. It now wants to refocus its efforts on first-party franchises like “Call of Duty,” “Candy Crush,” “Overwatch,” and “Diablo.”

News of the layoffs came after Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick claimed the publisher had “record results in 2018.” Its net revenue reached $2.38 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter, beating the company’s outlook of $2.24 billion. Net income for the year was an estimated $1.8 billion, an increase compared to $273 million in 2017.