Latest news with #FarmHeroesSaga
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Candy Crush makers are losing jobs to AI they helped build: Report
King, the Microsoft-owned gaming studio behind the iconic Candy Crush franchise, is reportedly preparing to lay off more people and replace them with the same AI tools they developed. These job cuts are apparently happening in departments like level design and narrative writing. The news comes from which, citing sources familiar with the matter, said that the layoff will affect around 50 people, or half the team working on Farm Heroes Saga. 'Most of level design 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. Similarly, the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating', one employee told the publication on the condition of anonymity. These employees worked from the company's offices in London, Stockholm, Berlin and Barcelona. As it turns out, they largely consist of mid-level management, UX, narrative copywriting, level design and user research staff. The report goes on to say that some of the game's leadership is being 'put on gardening leave', which means that they will have to stay away from the workplace, but will continue to receive salary and benefits. This is usually done to prevent employees from immediately joining a competitor and to prevent sensitive information from leaking. 'The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting. It's all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall. If we're introducing more feedback loops then it's crazy to remove the developer themselves, we need more hands and less leadership', added another employee. As it turns out, some centralised staff, like those working on research and QA, are also being removed, which means the total number of laid-off people may cross the 200 mark. Citing one staffer who was present in the meeting, the report suggests King's leadership allegedly wants to remove layers, stakeholders and other processes which might be slowing down development. Last year, King talked about how it is using AI tools to do its mundane tasks, giving its staff more time for creative thinking. Unsurprisingly, these AI layoffs are not limited to King. Earlier this month, a developer working for Halo developer 343 Industries reportedly told Engadget that they felt frustrated as they lost their job just hours after Xbox head Phil Spencer celebrated the division's profitability. To give you a quick recap, King Studios was previously owned by Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard and came under Microsoft's umbrella when the tech giant acquired Activision for $69 billion back in 2023.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
After laying off 9,000 employees, Microsoft is now replacing some of workers with the AI tools they build
Microsoft 's King division, the developers of popular game Candy Crush, had laid off around 200 employees, and now these human workers will reportedly be replaced by artificial intelligence tools they helped create, according to multiple sources speaking to . This comes as Microsoft pushed its gaming division into broader restructuring, cutting thousands of jobs across Xbox and its subsidiaries earlier this month. Designers, user researchers, UX writers, and narrative copywriters who spent years building and training these AI systems, are the ones now being replaced for now. King's London-based Farm Heroes Saga team also faces severe cuts, with sources indicating about 50 people, roughly half the team, will be made redundant, including key leadership positions. AI tools built by humans now replacing them "Most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they've spent months building tools to craft levels quicker," said one King staffer speaking anonymously to . "Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams. Similarly the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo The situation has created widespread frustration among remaining employees. "The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting but it's all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall," the same source continued. "If we're introducing more feedback loops then it's crazy to remove the developers themselves, we need more hands and less leadership." Company morale hits rock bottom amid restructuring Sources indicate the total number of cuts may exceed the initially reported 200 positions, with centralized staff in research and quality assurance also being eliminated. A recent internal employee survey conducted before the layoffs showed morale was already at an all-time low, with one person familiar with the results saying it's now "in the gutter." The restructuring affects King's offices in London, Barcelona, Stockholm, and Berlin, with many employees remaining in limbo throughout the summer as union negotiations continue. Senior staff have been placed on gardening leave ahead of expected September departures. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Engadget
4 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Laid off Candy Crush studio staff reportedly replaced by the AI tools they helped build
Microsoft's extensive gaming portfolio was hit hard by sweeping layoffs earlier this month. The situation appears to have been particularly galling for staff at Candy Crush developer King who are reportedly set to be replaced by AI tools they worked on. Multiple anonymous sources have told that a number of narrative, UX, level design and user research staffers at King have spent several years helping to build and train AI models that can do their jobs more quickly. Those same employees are now being told their jobs are at risk. They added that the copywriting team is facing the same fate, with the London-based group working on Farm Heroes Saga expected to effectively be cut in half. "The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting but it's all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall," a source told the mobile gaming-focused outlet. "If we're introducing more feedback loops then it's crazy to remove the developers themselves, we need more hands and less leadership." The same source estimated that the company-wide staff cuts could end up being more than 200, which was the number reported by Bloomberg when it broke the news of the broader layoffs. The impact of the recent staffing upheaval is being felt across Microsoft's gaming division. Engadget's Jessica Conditt recently spoke to employees at Halo Studios, with one developer telling us they were "super pissed" about the layoffs. At least five people within Halo Studios were told they no longer had jobs shortly after receiving an all-staff email from Microsoft Gaming SEO Phil Spencer allegedly celebrating Xbox's current profitability. The same developer said Microsoft was trying its "damnest to replace as many jobs as [it] can with AI agents" as it increasingly pushes Copilot on its staff.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Laid-Off Staff At Candy Crush Maker Say They've Been Training Their AI Replacements
Candy Crush maker, King, which Microsoft acquired along with Activision Blizzard back in 2023, was the first hit when mass layoffs were announced across the company earlier this month. Now some impacted staff say morale is at an all time low, as AI they've been training for years is potentially used to replace them. 'Most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they've spent months building tools to craft levels quicker,' a member of King's Farm Heroes Saga team reportedly told 'Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams. Similarly the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating.' 200 were laid off across King, though many impacted staff are reportedly in limbo until union negotiations wrap up in September. According to improving morale at King was a top priority following poor internal survey results and ongoing attrition. Instead, one employee said 'it's now in the gutter' ever since the layoffs were announced. King has not been secretive of its use of AI tools to make games like Candy Crush, which players' spent an estimated $9 million on every week, even harder to stop playing. 'Before we release a level, we let the bots play that level and we get insights–are there any shuffles? How difficult was this level? And there are many more metrics that give designers an insight into the gameplay–we run them thousands of times so we have good accuracy,' King's director of AI Labs Sahar Asadi told at GDC in 2024. 'Then the designers decide if that is an intended experience that they wanted – yes or no–and they go back and refine the level,' she continued. 'We also have built a tool on top of this playtesting that does automatic tweaking by AI.' AI's been a reoccurring backdrop to Microsoft's decision to fire roughly 9,000 employees, including many across Xbox and its related gaming divisions. Developers were invited to an AI roundtable at Gamescom 2025 on the same day the layoffs were announced. A senior Xbox publishing producer encouraged impacted staff to us AI to redo their resumes and apply to new jobs. And over the weekend, one of Xbox's principle development leads put out a hiring post that used apparent AI slop for its image of someone coding at a computer. The cuts across Microsoft comes as it commits to invest $80 billion in AI technology, more than the total cost of all its recent gaming acquisitions, in the current fiscal year alone. 'The fact AI tools are replacing people is absolutely disgusting but it's all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall,' one King staffer told . 'If we're introducing more feedback loops then it's crazy to remove the developers themselves, we need more hands and less leadership.' . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Metro
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Candy Crush developers replaced by the AI tools they helped make
Concerns that Microsoft's layoffs at Xbox would lead to developers being replaced by AI seem to have been proven true, starting with mobile developer King. Science fiction has been warning about the dangers of AI for decades and while emotionless robots taking over the world isn't currently a problem, soulless company executives replacing all their staff with incompetent AI tools definitely is. Of course, that's not quite how they put it, especially Microsoft, which is obsessed by the technology and insists that it can help gaming as much as anything else. After the most recent round of layoffs, many suspected they were intending to replace the thousands of vacated positions with AI tools and that's now been confirmed at Candy Crush Saga developer King. Despite being highly profitable, King was one of the first studios to report layoffs, earlier in the month, and now former staff have described how the AI tools they helped train have now replaced them. Around 200 staff are believed to have been cut at King, which has offices in Stockholm and London, with many developers currently in 'limbo', as the company negotiates with union representatives. An internal survey reportedly describes morale as being 'in the gutter', with website implying that dissenting voices are specifically being targeted by HR. Reportedly, the majority of cuts are in middle management, UX (user experience), and narrative copywriting. At the same time, Farm Heroes Saga, which is made in the UK, has lost half its staff, including level designers and user research – which adds up to around 50 people on its own. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Many other staff have also been told their jobs are at risk, most of which have spent the last few years training AI tools to do their jobs. This has apparently worked well enough that they are now being replaced by those same tools. More Trending 'Most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they've spent months building tools to craft levels quicker,' one former employee is quoted as saying. 'Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams. Similarly, 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 but it's all about efficiency and profits even though the company is doing great overall,' they added. Microsoft took control of King in 2023, when they acquired Activision Blizzard, and previous to that claimed that King and mobile gaming was the primary reason for the purchase, more so than Call Of Duty. There's since been no sign that's true, much as Microsoft's claims of wanting to support the Nintendo Switch have so far led to only two games (Pentiment and Grounded) in 2024 and nothing being announced for the Switch 2. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: An amazing John Wick video game you've never heard of will be delisted this week MORE: Fallout 5 may not be made by Bethesda as Elder Scrolls 6 enters 'playable state' MORE: Islanders: New Shores review – a cosy city builder at a budget price
