Gaming company Blizzard Entertainment, for years OC’s largest software company by headcount—and, until the emergence of Anduril Industries, OC’s largest office tenant—remains in retrenchment mode.
The “World of Warcraft” maker’s local base now stands around 1,300 employees after a series of layoffs following the 2024 purchase of its parent company by Microsoft for nearly $69 billion.
At its peak, Blizzard reportedly counted over 3,000 area workers. See our annual list of OC’s largest software companies on page 21.
It’s not just Blizzard that’s struggling in the gaming industry. Local companies with ties to Blizzard recently suggested their own downsizing was imminent.
Mike Morhaime’s latest venture, Irvine-based Dreamhaven, is reportedly seeking new financing and pondering job cuts after its first two games, “Wildgate” and “Sunderfolk,” underperformed sales.
Morhaime, who co-founded Blizzard in 1991, in a recent letter to employees, first reported by Bloomberg, that the company’s goal now is “urgently reducing costs.”
Irvine’s Frost Giant Studios, founded in 2020 by Blizzard vets and backed by over $35 million in funding for its just-released first game, “Stormgate,” reports that “revenue from early access game sales is not sufficient to support the company’s future operating expenses.” CEO Tim Morten told a gaming industry publication in August that the company needs to “find a partner” or get smaller.
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Anduril Industries aims to re-invent defense technology, but for fans of Ohio State University, perhaps their tech could focus on much more important defensive (and offensive) matters: help the Buckeyes beat their football nemesis Michigan Wolverines in a game for the first time in five years.
Anduril late last month announced they’d become an official sponsor of Ohio State Athletics. The deal “reflects Anduril’s enduring commitment to Ohio and the Columbus community as we build Arsenal-1, our new 5-million-square-foot advanced manufacturing campus in the region,” the company said.
It’s the second sporting-related partnership announced by the Costa Mesa contractor in as many weeks, following a NASCAR race sponsorship in San Diego; see last week’s print edition for more. Read Parimal Rohit’s page 1 story about Anduril’s next OC expansion.
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Huntington Beach upstart defense weapons systems manufacturing firm Mach Industries last week announced the hiring of Gary Hobart as its CFO. Hobart last served as CFO and chief transformation officer for Irvine’s Terran Orbital Corp., the small satellite maker which was bought by Lockheed Martin a year ago.
Mach Industries’ recent Series B funding round valued the firm at around $470 million and was led in part by Menlo Park heavyweight VC firm Khosla Ventures, which was part of the $405 million funding round for Orange County’s newest unicorn, FieldAI; see Kevin Costelloe’s page 1 story for more on the AI-powered robotics firm and its big-name financial backers.
