Microsoft’s latest move in its ongoing AI push is sparking outrage-and it’s hitting close to home for game developers. 
A new report from MobileGamer.biz reveals that over 200 developers at King, the studio behind the mega-hit Candy Crush, are facing layoffs. Their replacements? The very AI tools they were told to build.
King, part of the Activision Blizzard King (ABK) trio Microsoft acquired, was seen as a major gateway into the mobile gaming world-a sector where Microsoft previously had little foothold. But now, after leveraging the creative and technical talents of King’s developers to integrate AI solutions into workflows, Microsoft appears to be letting them go en masse.
“Most of the level design team is gone,” one source shared, “even though they spent months building AI tools to help create those levels faster. Those same tools are now the replacement.” It’s not just designers-entire copywriting teams have been gutted in favor of AI-generated content.
Internal memos frame the layoffs as part of a broader effort to “streamline operations” and “get the business back to growth.” But to those on the ground, it feels like betrayal. “If we’re adding more feedback loops and projects, why remove the developers? We need more hands, not fewer,” one insider argued.
The report also paints a chaotic picture of King’s HR department, described as “an absolute shitshow” where arbitrary firings are the norm. Employees who spoke out against leadership decisions are reportedly being targeted in this layoff wave.
What’s most frustrating for some is the bait-and-switch narrative. Just last year, Sahar Asadi, Director of AI Labs at King, spoke at GDC 2024 about AI tools being used to support creativity-not replace it. Fast forward, and that exact replacement is unfolding.
Developers in cities like London, Berlin, Stockholm, and Barcelona are affected, with entire teams-such as half of Farm Heroes Saga-facing cuts. For many, this is less about performance and more about pushing AI efficiency at all costs.
Microsoft maintains the move is to reduce “layers, overlapping remits, and unnecessary meetings.” Critics, however, argue it’s simply a new chapter in an old story-big tech streamlining profits while sidelining people.
As one observer put it: “You built the thing that took your job. That’s the new tech cycle.”