Microsoft 9000 jobs cut: Blizzard puts Warcraft Rumble game in ‘maintenance mode'
Blizzard is winding down its mobile strategy game, Warcraft Rumble, amid massive Microsoft layoffs affecting the studio. The game will no longer receive new features or content, but it will remain online with regular support and limited in-game events. Blizzard cited that the game has been unable to meet long-term expectations despite ongoing improvements, which is a key reason behind the change. Blizzard pauses new content for Warcraft Rumble amid Microsoft's major layoffs.
Warcraft Rumble was launched in 2023 to bring the Warcraft experience to mobile. It offers gameplay very similar to popular mobile games like Clash Royale. The game initially generated excitement but struggled to maintain a strong player base. Despite the team's hard work, listening to players' feedback, and exploring different options, the game showed little to no signs of improvement.
Blizzard stated in its official announcement, 'We have made the difficult decision to stop developing new content for Warcraft Rumble and focus on maintaining the game for current players.' With that, the studio confirmed that there will be no new content for the game but emphasized keeping the game accessible and stable with support for bug fixes and in-game events.
This move from the studio coincides with massive layoffs at Microsoft, the largest in over two years, with approximately 9,000 employees cut globally. This heavily impacted the Xbox gaming division and its subsidiaries, including Blizzard. These layoffs represent about 4% of Microsoft's total workforce and are part of a broader effort to redirect resources toward artificial intelligence and other priorities.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer explained that the company is 'ending or decreasing work in certain areas of the business' to focus on strategic growth areas. These cuts led to the cancellation of popular projects like the Perfect Dark reboot and Everwild, the shutdown of The Initiative, and reshuffling across Microsoft's gaming teams. For Blizzard, these layoffs mean reallocating resources from less successful ventures like Warcraft Rumble to core franchises.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Indian stock market: 10 things that changed for market overnight- Gift Nifty, Big Beautiful Bill, to US nonfarm payrolls
Indian stock market: The domestic equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open flat on Friday, tracking mixed cues from global markets. Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market ended higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs. On Thursday, the Indian stock market ended lower, dragged by fag-end selling, extending losses for the second consecutive session. The Sensex declined 170.22 points, or 0.20%, to close at 83,239.47, while the Nifty 50 settled 48.10 points, or 0.19%, lower at 25,405.30. 'Individual stocks continue to offer ample opportunities, supported by rotational buying across sectors and noticeable resilience in the broader market. Participants should align their positions accordingly, with a strong focus on stock selection,' said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd. Here are key global market cues for Sensex today: Asian markets traded mixed Friday, following overnight gains on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat while the Topix index rose 0.15%. South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.56% and the Kosdaq dropped 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening. Gift Nifty was trading around 25,526 level, a premium of nearly 18 points from the Nifty futures' previous close, indicating a mildly positive start for the Indian stock market indices. US stock market ended higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs on Thursday, after a surprisingly strong US jobs report cheered investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 344.11 points, or 0.77%, to 44,828.53, while the S&P 500 gained 51.94 points, or 0.83%, to 6,279.36. The Nasdaq Composite closed 207.97 points, or 1.02%, higher at 20,601.10. For the week, the S&P 500 surged 1.72%, the Nasdaq gained 1.62%, and the Dow jumped 2.3%. Nvidia share price rose 1.3%, Apple shares gained 0.52%, Amazon stock price added 1.59% and Microsoft share price advanced 1.58%. Tripadvisor shares jumped 16.7% and Datadog stock price surged 14.9%. Republicans in the US House of Representatives approved President Donald Trump's massive tax-cut and spending bill. The 218–214 vote capped a marathon push by Republicans to pass the $3.4 trillion 'One Big Beautiful bill', which will make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, deliver new tax breaks, and fund his immigration crackdown. The legislation will add $3.4 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Nvidia share price hit an all-time high, pushing its market capitalization near the $4 trillion mark and positioning it as the world's most valuable company. However, Nvidia stock ended the day up 1.33% at $159.34, with a market value of $3.89 trillion, placing it ahead of both Apple and Microsoft. US job growth was unexpectedly solid in June. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 144,000 advance in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 110,000 following a previously reported 139,000 gain in May. The Labor Department's closely watched employment report showed the unemployment rate falling to 4.1% last month from 4.2% in May, that was partly because some people left the labor force. The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell to a six-week low last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 - the lowest since mid-May - for the week ended June 28. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 240,000 claims for the latest week. The dollar held gains on Friday. Against the yen the dollar was traded at 144.69 yen, down 0.2% from late in the US trading day when it surged 0.8%. The euro added 0.1% to $1.1769, while sterling traded at $1.3668, up 0.1%. Gold prices held steady on Friday, poised for a weekly gain. Spot gold price was flat at $3,328.36 per ounce. Bullion is up 1.7% this week. US gold futures edged down 0.1% to $3,337.90. (With inputs from Reuters) Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Melinda Opens Up About Divorce From Bill Gates: ‘I Knew It In My Soul That...'
Melinda French Gates shared her emotional journey to end her 27-year marriage to Bill Gates. They divorced in 2021. Melinda French Gates reflected on the emotional reckoning behind her decision to end her 27-year marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, saying the truth she had long buried eventually rose with a force and she 'knew in my soul." In a candid interview, the 60-year-old philanthropist spoke of the moment that pushed her towards divorce- a decision complicated by decades of shared history, three children and one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations. 'When that voice would come and it would come at different times because of things that had happened outside the marriage that I would later come to learn about. I kept pushing it away," Melinda French Gates revealed. She admitted that, for years, she felt pressure to hold the relationship together not only for the sake of their family but for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit which the couple co-founded and co-chaired during their marriage. 'We had a foundation and that was big and I believed in that work. I still believe in the work of the foundation," she said, adding, 'At some point I had to turn towards my inner voice and I just knew it and I knew it in my soul." Melinda French Gates said the process of accepting the end of the relationship was long and deliberate, sharing, 'I took marriage and I still do- very, very seriously and it wasn't just two of us involved, it was five of us." Melinda-Bill Gates' Divorce The couple first met in 1987 during a Microsoft sales meeting, when Melinda was a product manager and Bill Gates was the company's CEO. After he reportedly asked her out in a parking lot, the two eventually wed on New Year's Day 1994. In 2021, the pair announced their divorce, saying they could no longer 'grow together as a couple in this next phase of life." The split came a year after their reported separation and public attention soon turned to Bill Gates' ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as well as allegations of infidelity. In 2022, Melinda French Gates said that she had expressed her discomfort about Bill Gates' meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. 'I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him," she said at the time, adding, 'He was abhorrent. He was evil personified." Since their split, both have moved on. Melinda French Gates is in a relationship with entrepreneur Philip Vaughn, while Bill Gates is dating Paula Hurd, former tech executive and widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published:
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Nvidia share price hits record high, nears $4 trillion market cap amid AI boom
Nvidia share price surged to an all-time high on Thursday, pushing its market capitalization close to the $4 trillion mark and positioning it as the world's most valuable publicly traded company — a milestone driven by relentless investor optimism around artificial intelligence. Shares of the AI chipmaker rose as much as 2.4% in intraday trading to $160.98, briefly valuing the company at $3.92 trillion — surpassing Apple's record closing market cap of $3.915 trillion set on December 26, 2024. However, Nvidia stock price ended the day up 1.33% at $159.34, with a market value of $3.89 trillion, placing it ahead of both Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft remains the second-most valuable company on Wall Street with a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, as its shares advanced 1.58% to close at $498.84. Apple shares rose 0.52% to $213.55 apiece, giving it a market value of $3.19 trillion, in third place. Nvidia's market valuation has jumped nearly eightfold since 2021 — from $500 billion to nearly $4 trillion — as demand for its high-performance chips has exploded alongside the AI revolution. Originally known for designing graphics processors for video games, Nvidia has become the cornerstone of the generative AI boom, powering data centers and AI infrastructure for tech giants. The rally in Nvidia shares also lifted the broader market, with the Nasdaq Composite closing at a record high of 20,601.10, up 207.97 points or 1.02%. According to LSEG data, Nvidia's current valuation even exceeds the combined market capitalization of all publicly traded companies in the United Kingdom, and is larger than the stock markets of both Canada and Mexico, Reuters reported. Despite its meteoric stock rise, Nvidia is trading at about 32 times analysts' expected earnings over the next 12 months — below its five-year average price-to-earnings ratio of around 41. This reflects accelerating earnings growth that continues to outpace its share price gains. Nvidia now accounts for 7% of the S&P 500 index. Along with Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, these five tech giants make up 28% of the benchmark index — underscoring their outsized influence on US equities. The company's latest generation of AI chips is helping train some of the most advanced large language models, driving soaring demand from cloud providers and tech leaders. A fierce race among Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Tesla to build next-generation AI infrastructure has further fueled the need for Nvidia's cutting-edge processors. (With inputs from Reuters) Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
