Activision Blizzard plans to hire 2000 new development staff over the next two years and triple the size of certain teams, most likely those working on Call of Duty.
The target was shared byActivision BlizzardCEOBobby Kotickduring a conference call yesterday to discuss the publisher’s Q1 2021 earnings.
“From the start of 2020 through the end of next year, we intend to hire more than 2000 developers,” Kotick said.
“We plan to triple the size of certain franchise teams compared to those team sizes in 2019 and we have aggressive hiring plans around the world, including new studios or major expansion in Poland, China, Australia, and Canada.
“And, as our shareholders expect, we remain laser focused on finding and retaining the best talent in the industry and always aligning performance and reward.”
The earnings call revealed that Activision Blizzard made revenue of $2.28 billion in the first quarter of 2021, which was higher than the $2.02 billion the company had predicted.
The company’sActivisionsegment reported revenue growth of 72% year on year, “driven by Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War andWarzonein-game revenues, strong premium sales andCall of Duty Mobile“. Meanwhile, theBlizzardand King segments reported growth of 7% and 22% respectively.
Last weekCrash Bandicoot 4studioToys For Bobconfirmedit would be supporting the development of Call of Duty: Warzone, which led to one former contract character designerclaiming that they had left the studio, along with “everyone” they had worked alongside at Toys For Bob.
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Activisionhas since denied claims that Toys For Bob has suffered layoffs, and said it will continue to support Crash Bandicoot alongside its new role on Call of Duty.
Kotickagreed last week to halve his salaryas part of his latest employment contract, but the executive could earn more via long-term equity incentive awards.
