Latest news with #Microsoft-owned
Indian Express
17-07-2025
- 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
09-07-2025
- Time of India
How hackers may have ‘forced' Microsoft-owned Activision to remove PC version of this Call of Duty game
Microsoft-owned game developer Activision has taken down the PC version of Call of Duty: WWII from the Microsoft Store . Last week, Activision took to the social media platform X (earlier Twitter) to announce that it was bringing the 2017 first-person shooter offline to investigate "reports of an issue," without initially specifying the problem. This version of the game had recently launched and was also available through Microsoft's gaming subscription service, Xbox Game Pass . According to a report by TechCrunch, this move came after hackers exploited a flaw that led to several players' computers being compromised. The report cited a person (who remained anonymous) with knowledge of Activision's response to claim that the company took the game offline due to ongoing hacks and is currently working on a fix. How Call of Duty WWII players were affected by this hacking Multiple players took to social media to report being hacked while playing the game. However, no direct connection between the incidents had been confirmed until now. In a post shared on X, a user wrote: 'I JUST GOT HACKED PLAYING WW2! EVERYONE DO NOT PLAY WW2 ON GAMEPASS!' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Brain tumor has left my son feeling miserable; please help! Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Meanwhile, a Reddit user wrote, 'The game is not safe to play on PC right now, there's an RCE exploit,' last week. The user referred to a type of security flaw known as remote code execution, which enables hackers to install malware that can effectively take control of the victim's device. As per the report, two sources familiar with the matter has noted that the game's publisher removed only the Microsoft Store and Game Pass versions of Call of Duty : WWII, as these editions were different from the Steam release and contained an outdated vulnerability that had already been patched in other versions of the game. Over the past two years, Activision has faced multiple hacking incidents, including a November 2024 exploit that misused the anti-cheat system to ban legitimate players, and earlier attacks involving infostealer malware. In 2023, a worm exploited an old unpatched bug in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. While some gaming companies have strengthened their cybersecurity and anti-cheat efforts, Activision has undergone several rounds of layoffs, impacting its cybersecurity teams. What Is Artificial Intelligence? Explained Simply With Real-Life Examples
Black America Web
07-07-2025
- Business
- Black America Web
Microsoft Laying Off Up To 9,000 Employees, Xbox Cancels ‘Perfect Dark', Gamers React
Source: picture alliance / Getty / Microsoft / Xbox / Phil Spencer Wednesday was a rough one for Microsoft and Team Xbox. The Seattle Times reports that Microsoft is giving about 9,100, or about 4 percent, of its workforce pink slips. According to the report, the Xbox division, aka Microsoft Gaming, will be hit the hardest as a result of these layoffs, but the exact number remains unknown. In a message to the team, Xbox head Phil Spencer said to the team, 'To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.' The sad news also means that these layoffs will impact games. According to Bloomberg , the Microsoft-owned King division, the maker of the wildly popular Candy Crush mobile game franchise, is laying off 10 percent of its employees, or approximately 200 people. Zenimax also confirmed it was laying off employees. Turn 10, the studio behind the Forza Motorsport franchise, is laying off more than 70 employees . The long-talked-about Perfect Dark game from the now-shuttered studio The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics, along with Everwild , has been canceled. Perfect Dark was just revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase in 2024, so that means there's a possibility that more games shown during that event could be put on ice by Microsoft. This latest round of layoffs follows Microsoft's layoffs of more than 6,000 employees less than two months ago, which were subsequently supplemented by an additional 305 reductions in early June. Phil Spencer's entire memo to the team, speaking about the recent round of layoffs, reads: Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today's notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days. I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we're seeing currently is based on tough decisions we've made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come. Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams. HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review. Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey. Phil You can see reactions to the announcement of the unfortunate layoffs in the gallery below, spoiler alert, Phil Spencer might want to stay off social media for a while. Microsoft Laying Off Up To 9,000 Employees, Xbox Cancels 'Perfect Dark', Gamers React was originally published on
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Chinese AI startup that 'shocked' biggest American tech companies is hiring big time
DeepSeek , the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup based in Hangzhou, appears to be expanding its talent search beyond its borders, significantly increasing its recruitment efforts on LinkedIn. A report says that over the past week, the company posted 10 new positions on the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform, marking its first listings there in several months. The job postings, written in Mandarin with detailed descriptions, include three roles specifically focused on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). These positions are based in DeepSeek's Beijing and Hangzhou offices. According to a report by Bloomberg, similar roles were posted on popular Chinese recruitment sites earlier in 2025, the increased activity on LinkedIn is notable. LinkedIn ceased operating a localised version of its platform in China in 2021, meaning many candidates viewing these listings would likely be based outside of the country. Tech companies like Google, OpenAI and Meta increase 'AI hiring' DeepSeek's move to attract global talent mirrors the aggressive recruitment strategies of its US rivals, such as Google , OpenAI (developer of ChatGPT) and Meta Platforms. These companies are actively competing to secure top AI experts in the race to dominate the potentially world-changing field of artificial intelligence. Recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the team that will lead the company's 'Superintelligence' lab. The team consists of former employees of companies like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, and will be lead by ScaleAI founder Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Last year, Microsoft hired Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind – now part of Google – and Inflection, as CEO of Microsoft AI team. Elon Musk has, on several occasions, posted job opportunities for AI engineers to work in his AI comapby, xAI. OnePlus Nord 5 and OnePlus Nord CE 5: Unboxing and first look AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Ammon
03-07-2025
- Business
- Ammon
Microsoft is laying off as many as 9,000 employees
Ammon News - Microsoft confirmed that it's laying off as many as 9,100 employees, or about 4 percent of its workforce, in yet another round of cuts this year, reports The Seattle Times. Employees in Microsoft's Xbox division, known as Microsoft Gaming, are being hit hard by these layoffs, although exact numbers and divisions are not yet known. Xbox leader Phil Spencer said in a message to the team, 'To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.' Bloomberg reports that the now Microsoft-owned King division that makes Candy Crush is cutting about 10 percent of employees, or 200 people, while other units, like ZeniMax, have also confirmed they are cutting jobs. Microsoft is also laying off more than 70 people at its Forza Motorsport studio, Turn 10, as well as cancelling its Perfect Dark and Everwild games. The studio behind Perfect Dark, The Initiative, is also closing down as part of these layoffs. These major layoffs come less than two months after Microsoft announced it was cutting more than 6,000 employees, followed by an additional 305 reductions in early June. Microsoft employees have faced a series of layoffs over the past year, including a round of performance-based cuts that have seriously hit morale, according to multiple Microsoft employees I've spoken to. The Verge
