Blizzard’s Hearthstone team reportedly hit by layoffs after restructure

Activision Blizzard is restructuring the Hearthstone department via means of layoffs, according to LinkedIn posts from former Hearthstone team members.

An Activision Blizzard statement to Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach read, “Organizational changes were made to the Hearthstone team; as a result a small number of roles have become redundant. We want to thank these employees for their many contributions.”

Gach also reported that ten employees were impacted by the layoffs. The precise teams affected, and the numbers they were affected in, are currently unknown. Two game producers and an engineer were laid off, according to the three cited LinkedIn posts.

The distant future of Hearthstone is currently looking a bit rocky. With the success of other card game titles like Marvel Snap, and Activision Blizzard’s impending acquisition by Microsoft, things have looked better for the once-lauded game developer. Once one of the more popular games in the world, Hearthstone‘s current state leaves quite a bit to be desired – from nonfixes to bugs and some lackluster game modes, it’s clear that the title has seen better days.

The immediate future is unclear as well for the title, as several Activision Blizzard teams are looking at the Microsoft acquisition as rocky for their job prospects with the company as the World of Warcraft developer trims the fat before the acquisition goes through.