Blizzard Entertainment lays off 600 people

IRVINE, CALIF. (AP) - Blizzard Entertainment says it’s cutting about 600 jobs.

The Irvine, Calif., company, which makes the popular “World of Warcraft” games, says that only about 10 percent of the cuts will involve jobs related to game development.

The “World of Warcraft” development team will not be affected.

Blizzard, which is part of Activision Blizzard Inc., says the decision to cut jobs was made after a review of business needs.

Blizzard’s development and publishing schedules will not be affected and the company says it’s still looking to hire game developers for certain positions.

Blizzard added that expenses related to the job cuts aren’t expected to significantly reduce Activision Blizzard’s financial results for 2012.

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