BioWare responds to SWTOR layoffs
If anyone knows just how brutal and unforgiving the MMO industry can be, it is certainly the folks at BioWare. Last week delivered a one-two punch to the studio, as the team had to contend with layoffs while breaking the news of server merges to the playerbase. Star Wars: The Old Republic Associate Lead Designer Emmanuel Lusinchi admitted that this came with the territory: "The MMO is the toughest part of the game industry without a doubt, and we live in tough economic times in general."
Despite the layoffs, Lusinchi said that the development team is still "one of the biggest" in the industry and has detailed plans for SWTOR's future. Still, that didn't make dealing with the realities of the job cuts any easier.
"On a personal level it's quite difficult to have people that you've been working with for a long time that you know personally, you go to their barbecue and you meet their families and it's never easy," he said. "I doubt it'd be easy in any industry for anyone, but it happens."
