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Obsidian Entertainment, an Irvine-based video game development studio, is laying off 52 workers<\/a> as part of a larger restructuring to reset Microsoft\u2019s Xbox video game business.<\/p>\n In a letter filed July 6 with the state\u2019s Employment Development Department, Jason Tucker, Obsidian\u2019s director of human resources, wrote that 43 positions at the company\u2019s facility at 100 Spectrum Center Drive, would be laid off effective Sept. 4.<\/p>\n Another nine remote positions within California also would be eliminated, he said.<\/p>\n Tucker, who wrote the Irvine facility would not be closed, said that the layoffs are part of Obsidian\u2019s plan to \u201creorganize and restructure operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, Microsoft announced plans<\/a> to cut 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including 1,600 workers at its Xbox video game business.<\/p>\n \u201cOur business today is not healthy,\u201d according to a memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma<\/a>, who took over the gaming division earlier this year.<\/p>\n Sharma said that the industry, in which Xbox competes with Sony\u2019s PlayStation and Nintendo\u2019s Switch, is facing a \u201chardware crisis\u201d as costs soar for console components.<\/p>\n Obsidian was founded in 2003 by former developers of Black Isle Studios, an in-house development unit of Interplay Entertainment.<\/p>\n Interplay shutdown Black Isle in 2003 due to financial struggles, with key developers and designers moving on to form Obsidian. In 2018, Microsoft bought the video game maker known for its \u201crole-playing games,\u201d or RPGs, like Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and the Pillars of Eternity series.<\/p>\n In RPG games, players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting, shaping the story through their choices and actions.<\/p>\n The filing with the state\u2019s EDD was made as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act \u2014 commonly referred to as a WARN notice.The filings are required when an employer lays off more than 50 employees.<\/p>\n The Obsidian layoffs<\/a>\u00a0include engine software, graphic design and gameplay engineers, software designers, environment, character and technical artists, directors and a financial manager, according to the filing.<\/p>\n Nearly three years ago, Microsoft closed a $69 billion deal to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard<\/a>, maker of \u201cCall of Duty\u201d and other blockbuster franchises. The Irvine business of MIcrosoft\u2019s Activision has not been immune to layoffs<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n An Activision spokeswoman could not immediately comment on whether the recent announcement by Microsoft to layoff 1,600 workers in its video game businesses might impact her company as well.<\/p>\n In September 2024, Activision announced the layoffs of 400 workers in its in mobile gaming divisions<\/a> in Santa Monica and Irvine, eliminating redundancies among its staff. These layoffs came on top of more than 1,000 made throughout 2024<\/a> by Activision, ranging from operations in Novato and Foster City in the Bay Area to Southern California offices, according to EDD filings.<\/p>\n