
Disney Interactive has cut 700 employees, around a quarter of its employees, according to
Variety. The cuts will come primarily from social game-maker Playdom, which Disney acquired in 2010. One of Playdom’s stronger titles is
Marvel: Avengers Alliance, which has 3.9 million Facebook fans. Disney plans to outsource more social and mobile game production in the future, a significant shift in strategy.
The cuts were bigger than expected; just a few weeks ago a downsizing of “several hundred” employees was expected (see "
Marvel, 'Star Wars' Planned for 'Infinity'").
The biggest hit at the division is
Disney Infinity, which has sold some three million Starters since launch (see "
Disney Sold Three Million Starters"), and plans to add Marvel and
Star Wars characters to the mix.