Life under Microsoft ownership has got off to a horrible start for Activision Blizzard studios. Microsoft announced last month that it would be laying off 1,900 people across its gaming division, as part of which the likes of Blizzard Entertainment and Toys for Bob (among others) have been impacted. Another name in that list is Sledgehammer Games.
As reported by SF Chronicle, state notice in California has revealed that 76 people will be laid off at an Activision studio located in Foster City. The address provided for the studio matches the address of Sledgehammer Games office. Meanwhile, last month, it was also reported by Insider Gaming that Sledgehammer was shutting down its office and going fully remote on a temporary basis, as it looks to relocate to a smaller office space.
Sledgehammer Games has been focused exclusively on Call of Duty since its inception in 2009. On top of co-developing and providing development assistance for a number of titles in the series, the studio has also served as the lead developer on four instalments- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: WW2, Call of Duty: Vanguard, and last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.