Microsoft Corp’s gaming division began cutting hundreds of employees on Wednesday, its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than two years. Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June. Subsidiaries across the gaming organisation were told that they would be affected by the layoffs — King division, which makes Candy Crush, is cutting 10% of its staff, or about 200 jobs; Call of Duty maker Raven Software has announced workforce reductions. Microsoft also cancelled several projects that had been in development for years, including the fantasy game Everwild, and an original new online game from ZeniMax Online Studios, the maker of The Elder Scrolls Online. Both studios will cut jobs as a result of the cancellations. Microsoft said Wednesday it’s eliminating 9,000 workers.
