Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly preparing for another round of layoffs, with Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier saying the cuts are “coming and imminent.” Schreier made the comment during a recent appearance on the 8-4 Play podcast while discussing Blizzard and the company’s position following BlizzCon 2026. Microsoft and Blizzard have not yet publicly announced a new round of reductions, so the scale, timing and affected teams remain unknown.
The comment came during the September 18 episode of 8-4 Play, recorded around Tokyo Game Show 2026. Schreier did not provide a headcount or identify specific Blizzard teams that could be affected, but his wording indicated that further job losses are expected rather than merely being considered internally. Until Microsoft makes an announcement, however, it is not clear whether these cuts form part of previously planned reductions or represent an additional restructuring measure.
Separately, VGC editor-in-chief Andy Robinson has warned that “more bad Xbox news is coming shortly.” Robinson did not specify that his information concerned layoffs, meaning his statement should not be treated as independent confirmation of Blizzard job cuts. The proximity of the two comments nevertheless comes at a sensitive time for Microsoft’s gaming business, which has already been undergoing a large restructuring throughout 2026.
Microsoft announced major Xbox reductions in July, with reports indicating approximately 3,200 gaming roles would ultimately be removed across fiscal 2027. The restructuring affected multiple parts of the organization and followed warnings from Xbox leadership that the business needed to reduce costs and focus more heavily on its largest franchises. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s broader turnaround plan has centered on improving margins, narrowing investment and resetting the gaming division for longer-term growth.
Microsoft has publicly described that process as a business reset. During its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings call, the company said it was making necessary decisions across Xbox’s content portfolio, platform and operations with the goal of returning the business to growth in fiscal 2027. That makes it possible that any new Blizzard reductions could be connected to the same multi-stage restructuring, although Microsoft has not confirmed that link.
The timing would be particularly notable for Blizzard because the studio has just completed BlizzCon 2026, where it announced several major projects. Those included Diablo V, currently targeting spring 2029, and a new open-world StarCraft shooter planned for 2030, alongside updates across Warcraft and Blizzard’s other franchises. A fresh round of job cuts immediately after those announcements would highlight the gap between the publisher’s long-term development plans and its current cost-reduction efforts.
Blizzard workers also recently ratified new union contracts covering roughly 1,900 employees represented by the Communications Workers of America. Those agreements include wage increases, hybrid-work protections, grievance procedures, severance guarantees and recall rights for workers affected by layoffs. The contracts also require bargaining over certain workplace uses of artificial intelligence and give laid-off union members priority consideration for openings across Blizzard bargaining units for 14 months.
Those protections do not prevent layoffs, but they establish clearer obligations if unionized employees are included in another reduction. The CWA has already criticized Microsoft’s wider 2026 Xbox cuts and organized demonstrations involving gaming workers affected by the restructuring. Blizzard’s union agreements were finalized only days before BlizzCon, making Schreier’s warning especially significant for employees covered by the new terms.
For now, the strongest specific report concerns Blizzard. Schreier says layoffs there are imminent, while Robinson’s separate Xbox warning remains broader and could refer to another kind of negative development. Microsoft has not announced additional cuts, and there is currently no verified figure for how many Blizzard employees may be affected or when an announcement could arrive.
