Overwatch 2 Developers Receive No Profit-Sharing Bonuses

This month, the developers of Overwatch 2 will not receive any profit-sharing bonuses, with their bonus targets set at 0%. According to a report by Bloomberg, it is unusual for Blizzard Entertainment employees to not receive a profit-sharing bonus. The bonus is tied to the financial performance of the company's products and is paid out twice a year. The fact that Overwatch 2 developers are not receiving any bonus payouts may be an indication of the game's disappointing financial results. Sources close to the matter have stated that the poor sales of a pack of three player-versus-environment story missions last year may have contributed to the lack of bonuses. In January, Microsoft laid off approximately 1,900 employees, including a significant number of staff members who worked on Overwatch 2's player-versus-environment content. The remaining development team is reportedly shifting its focus to player-versus-player content and abandoning previous plans for player-versus-environment work. In the past, bonuses for Blizzard employees were based on the company's overall performance, but the policy was changed last year to focus on the performance of individual franchises. This change, which took a decade to implement, was a point of contention between Blizzard's leadership and its parent company, Activision Blizzard. Sources have revealed that in August 2023, the Overwatch 2 development team was informed that, based on the game's financial performance in the first half of the year, they would not be eligible for bonuses.