Fired activision employee calls out destin, matt booty, sarah bond, and phil spencer.

In a normal world, Microsoft would get sanctioned to hell and back for breaching the legal terms for the merger approval.
you think the terms of the merger were conditioned up keeping a certain headcount? Lol.

But I'm with you. The shills were morons. Anyone with half a brain knew this was coming.
 
Last edited:
I'd support these talented devs a %110 if were a 3rd party publisher and I'd encourage 3rd party publishers to do so cause even the worst of them all "EA" looks infinitely better than the bs we are getting right now. EA must take this opportunity to their advantage and I believe they could it.
 
Last edited:
yVaa89I.png

I don't even have any words to describe such virgin behaviour... Xbox fans really are something else, Like a cult.
 
I would usually agree, but judging by the anime profile pic, the disgruntled former employee was probably a 'narrative editor' interested in 'exploring contemporary forms
of queerness and alternative social perspectives'.

All of those manatees deserved firing.

Obviously doesn't change the fact that Spencer et al are fucking divs.
I'm not sure what would give you that impression

hgJtUQCXKPZJUjaR.jpeg
 
Not going to lie and admit that I was one of those rooting for this acquisition because I thought it would help competition and even the playing field with MS and Sony but the moves they made afterwards is undeniably horrific and was the result of the merger.
 
I would usually agree, but judging by the anime profile pic, the disgruntled former employee was probably a 'narrative editor' interested in 'exploring contemporary forms
of queerness and alternative social perspectives'.

All of those manatees deserved firing.

Obviously doesn't change the fact that Spencer et al are fucking divs.
I remember this chart making the rounds a few years back. Blizzard had twice as many employees as all the CoD studios combined. They basically have WoW, Diablo and Overwatch that they support and deliver a new game once in a blue moon. Meanwhile, the CoD studios deliver a new game every year, while also supporting Warzone.

I'm not even slightly surprised that they decided to cut the fat off of Blizzard.

Activision_Blizzard_Xbox_Game_Studios_00.jpg
 
How some of these executives still have jobs is beyond me. They're literally the downfall of Xbox yet their jobs remain safe.
Exactly, executives will fuck up all day and lose millions of dollars and cause thousands to lose their job but somehow, inexplicably, they are never, ever held accountable.

As a former manager who fought to keep his store open and employees paid fairly, how could you ever sleep at night knowing your fuck up ruined so many careers, that so many families who depended on your leadership to make a profitable product and you messed it up and everyone pays the ultimate price for it except you? Incredible what a lack of a conscience these people have.
 
I remember this chart making the rounds a few years back. Blizzard had twice as many employees as all the CoD studios combined. They basically have WoW, Diablo and Overwatch that they support and deliver a new game once in a blue moon. Meanwhile, the CoD studios deliver a new game every year, while also supporting Warzone.

I'm not even slightly surprised that they decided to cut the fat off of Blizzard.

Activision_Blizzard_Xbox_Game_Studios_00.jpg
I still question how the hell King is that big and what the fuck all the employees are doing. They are releasing fewer than one mobile game a year.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into a Twitter situation where 75% of the staff can be let go and after a short adjustment period the people who actually work are able to carry on like nothing happened.
 
Last edited:
I buy into the idea that the Activision purchase got the eye of Sauron turned on them, and now they are having to pay into the larger organization in a way they never have before...and it's gutting their studio business.

That said - Phil and Friends were definitely at the table when the decision to buy Activision was made. It's not like this was hoisted upon them without their consent. They are now seeing the consequences of their actions.
 
Xbox fanboys/shills are the absolute worst.
Yes because Nintendo fanboys are angels.

Just say Mario games sucks. you will be curisified.

all fanboys are weird. I never understood the love of a plastic box with a name on it.

If Forspoken was a PlayStation first-party game, it would have probably won Game of the year.
 
I buy into the idea that the Activision purchase got the eye of Sauron turned on them, and now they are having to pay into the larger organization in a way they never have before...and it's gutting their studio business.

That said - Phil and Friends were definitely at the table when the decision to buy Activision was made. It's not like this was hoisted upon them without their consent. They are now seeing the consequences of their actions.

Oh no doubt. That ABK acquisition most definitely turned the corporate (beyond Xbox) eyes toward the Xbox division. Not just because of the cost but also the negative press they were getting. I also imagine it probably hurt their long term strategy for acquiring companies breaking into AI tech.

Alas, the usual Xbox social media shills seem to have their new talking points and they are "Blame Satya! Blame Amy!". Zero accountability for Phil and Matt (and, to a lesser degree, Sarah) who were standing at the helm steering into the metaphorical iceberg.

These companies were way too bloated, cutting it all out is smart. But yeah I guess most would rather cry and moan with the Karens...

I always find it interesting how bad Xbox news always brings out these couple-year-old Neo Members with tiny, almost non-existent, post history. 🤔
 
Last edited:
Yes because Nintendo fanboys are angels.

Just say Mario games sucks. you will be curisified.

all fanboys are weird. I never understood the love of a plastic box with a name on it.

If Forspoken was a PlayStation first-party game, it would have probably won Game of the year.
You poor poor little victim!
I'm sending soothing vibrations to you.

The difference is, both Sony and Nintendo are indifferent to their fanboys, while Xbox turned itself into a cult/religion and kept empowering and feeding them attention.
 
Acquisitions result in redundancy, layoffs always follow.

Further, big bloated projects are failing, while small nimble studios are making huge hits. Many a discussion on this forum itself acknowledge this, are are frustrated by developers at big studios randomizing development, bloating progression, and inserting personal agendas into projects.

Fixing that? Doing what you want? Necessitates layoffs.

The purpose of a studio is to produce games to delight consumers. Not to employee as many people as possible. In this case, if Activision is still able to produce games in a timely manner and consistent with customer expectations even without these 2000 employees.. than did they need those 2000 in the first place?

I get that this is callous and inhuman. But it's capitalism. Xbox is in a bad place, to fix that they need to make changes. This is what change looks like.
 
Same in all businesses.

Did it at my place, admittedly not software but data management and not thousands of employees.

Got taken over (hidden behind a supposed 'merger' bullshit narrative but taken over) - new combined Exec all come in, smiling, balloons, handing out cup cakes, free drinks, branded pens and post its etc 'amazing new work partnership - absolutely zero job cuts one happy family' bollocks speech...

Three months later… 250 of us out the door. One months notice (some got more due to longer lengths of service as defined by law)

It's life. Can't get pissy about it because THATS WHAT THEY DO.

Edited for some minor clarifications.
 
Last edited:
You poor poor little victim!
I'm sending soothing vibrations to you.

The difference is, both Sony and Nintendo are indifferent to their fanboys, while Xbox turned itself into a cult/religion and kept empowering and feeding them attention.

For a while now I suspect MS is rather big on Astroturfing, and ofcourse AI usage.

Maybe its because they're distant third, but they do seem to have the most visible shills. To be fair it already started with Xbox One and Polygon, namely Arthur Gies.
 
Why include Destin? Is he employed or payed by MS? I thought he is just a xbox fanboy.

Regardless it is his life line to relevancy.

Microsoft's astroturfing is way too prominent with their podcaster/influencer/media feedback loop despite being a distant 3rd. No other company in the industry has as many personalities and media arms dedicated to their messaging, constantly playing defense or undermining the competitors.
 
Last edited:
Acquisitions result in redundancy, layoffs always follow.

Further, big bloated projects are failing, while small nimble studios are making huge hits. Many a discussion on this forum itself acknowledge this, are are frustrated by developers at big studios randomizing development, bloating progression, and inserting personal agendas into projects.

Fixing that? Doing what you want? Necessitates layoffs.

The purpose of a studio is to produce games to delight consumers. Not to employee as many people as possible. In this case, if Activision is still able to produce games in a timely manner and consistent with customer expectations even without these 2000 employees.. than did they need those 2000 in the first place?

I get that this is callous and inhuman. But it's capitalism. Xbox is in a bad place, to fix that they need to make changes. This is what change looks like.


It's funny that you are preaching obvious stuff that was DENIED by XBOX execs and their shills BEFORE the merger.

That's the point of discussion, not "capitalism".

Besides, the bottom line problem is that XBOX isn't producing shit either. The companies they have acquired produced MORE without XBOX. So, Microsoft has bought and destroyed, which doesnt add any value to the market. It's a negative force. The companies they purchased were profitable businesses that now have been turned into dust.

And you are calling that "capitalism". No, it's not. It's disgusting.
 
Acquisitions result in redundancy, layoffs always follow.

Further, big bloated projects are failing, while small nimble studios are making huge hits. Many a discussion on this forum itself acknowledge this, are are frustrated by developers at big studios randomizing development, bloating progression, and inserting personal agendas into projects.

Fixing that? Doing what you want? Necessitates layoffs.

The purpose of a studio is to produce games to delight consumers. Not to employee as many people as possible. In this case, if Activision is still able to produce games in a timely manner and consistent with customer expectations even without these 2000 employees.. than did they need those 2000 in the first place?

I get that this is callous and inhuman. But it's capitalism. Xbox is in a bad place, to fix that they need to make changes. This is what change looks like.
And why is it Xbox management seemed to be totally unaware of this for years and let the shit go to this point?

The cuts should have started with Phil, Booty, etc. and that years ago.
 
I always find it interesting how bad Xbox news always brings out these couple-year-old Neo Members with tiny, almost non-existent, post history
Like clockwork. You can count on at least 3-5 barely used accounts, to come out in support of Microsoft's bad decisions. They have an army of Bing soldiers, waiting in the wings.
 
Last edited:
Yes because Nintendo fanboys are angels.

Just say Mario games sucks. you will be curisified.

all fanboys are weird. I never understood the love of a plastic box with a name on it.

If Forspoken was a PlayStation first-party game, it would have probably won Game of the year.

You're a cuck.
 
I always find it interesting how bad Xbox news always brings out these couple-year-old Neo Members with tiny, almost non-existent, post history. 🤔
Oh cut the gaslighting already, it's pathetic. God forbid anyone on GAF not having a constant Xbox hate boner.
 
Like clockwork. You can on at least 3-5 barely used accounts, to come out in support of Microsoft's bad decisions. They have an army of Bing soldiers, waiting in the wings.
See, for you (and clearly most of GAF), anything Xbox does is systematically a "bad decision". Any divergent opinion can only come from a bot. 🙄
 
I always find it interesting how bad Xbox news always brings out these couple-year-old Neo Members with tiny, almost non-existent, post history. 🤔
You have a point... I wonder why that is? Lots of threads for the sake of engagement about things we cannot change as of lately.
 
Found it.


Essentially B-BUT 720P IS FINE AND 1080P IS USELESS. You know for a fact that if the tables had been turned and PS4 was only doing 720p versus Xbox One doing 1080p he would have been going on and on about how much better it was. In his defense though the other chucklefuck I can't remember the name of is the one who says the human eye cannot perceive the difference under 50 inches.


The guy with the glasses saying you can't perceive 1080p before 50 inches is fucking full of it.

Perfect example of marching orders right there
 
Microsoft used to always do a 5-10% bloodletting to stay lean.
5-10% has nothing to do with staying lean (most organisations actually grow while doing it).
It's just based on the statistics - ie. within every (statistically large enough) org you will have around 5-10% lower performing staff. And as hypothesis goes - firing that bucket (every year) and continually pushing for high hiring bar, leads organisation to get better Year on year.
It's common practice in big-tech in general.

But the difference is those aren't done as mass-layoffs - it's a continuous process through the year, and people actually have a chance to improve their performance (so that you don't just indiscriminately fire anyone that had a bad day).

Suddenly anyone losing a job is the worst thing in the world. And maybe it is if they were unqualified and massively overpaid.
With mass layoffs there's no such nuance really - it's usually to eliminate jobs/projects/teams, not individuals based on performance (though of course, badly performing teams/projects will be up first).
 
Top Bottom