News Summary

• Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra also announced he would be departing the company.Almost exactly one year ago, Microsoft laid off 10,000 people across all its divisions, including a number from its gaming divisions..
• It's the second company ever to reach this milestone, after Apple, which achieved it in December of last year and has since been vying with Microsoft for the moniker of most valuable company on Wall Street..
• In its most recent earnings (released in October of 2023, covering the quarter ending September 2023) Microsoft reported $56.5 billion in revenue up 13% year over year, and Xbox content and services revenue up 13% year-over-year..
• Gaming head Phil Spencer described the layoffs as part of "a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business.".
• Many of the impacted workers came from Activision Blizzard divisions, including a number from a now-canceled survival game..
• The company is expected to release its full-year earnings for 2023 next week.Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN..