Activision lays off staff, will produce fewer licensed games

Despite the successes of key franchises like Skylanders and Call of Duty, Activision will still be forced to reduce its global staff by 30 members. Some of the cuts are being made at Black Ops II developer Treyarch, but a greater percentage will come from outside the Call of Duty studio. Additionally, the publisher will be cutting back on the number of licensed games it releases.

"Like any successful business, Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues—this is an ongoing process," said Activision in a statement to Kotaku. "In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on license properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate. Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one percent of Activision Blizzard's employee population. We are offering those employees who are impacted outplacement counseling services."

While there are still plans in place for licensed games based on The Walking Dead, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and several Marvel properties, there are certainly some areas where Activision could make some cuts based on lack of performance. 007 Legends developer Eurocom already saw cutbacks ealier this year, for example. Fortunately, though there are some cuts coming at Treyarch, Activision assured it wouldn't impact the future of DLC for Black Ops II.

What do you think of Activision's decision? Which licenses will you be sad to see left off the release calendar?