Stamp go. Stamp quit.

I’ve cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription for (I expect) the last time. In the past, I’ve let the subscription lapse between expansions simply due to lack of time (or interest), but now it’s a matter of principle.

After more than 14 years, and with no in-game fanfare or drama, I’m letting my tauren warrior – and my many alts spread across at least a half dozen servers – fade into the sunset.

I made the decision after the announcement that Activision Blizzard began laying off employees this week. Some 800 people got shown the door – after a record-setting year for revenues and a raise for the company’s top dog. And I have the feeling the cuts might just be getting started.

I understand personnel reductions when a company struggles. I watched quite a few friends depart the wreckage of Icarus Studios after Fallen Earth failed to support itself in the months after our post-apocalyptic MMORPG launched. Then, in November 2010, the pink slip landed on *my* desk. I didn’t like it, but it made sense. This move by Activision Blizzard, on the other hand, seems a cynical ploy to feather the nests of the top executives and shareholders. Is Bob Kotick taking a salary hit as part of this fat trimming? I doubt it.

So, I can’t in good conscience keep supporting the company when it treats employees this way.

I wish nothing but the best to those laid off this week. Hang in there.