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Layoffs hit WildStar's Carbine Studios
Word is bubbling up from several sources that layoffs are impacting Carbine Studios and WildStar today. NCsoft confirmed the rumors in an official statement: "While decisions like this are always hard, they are necessary as we begin the implementation of a new strategy designed to strengthen our footing as a leader in global entertainment. Again, the decision to reduce staff was not an easy one, and we sincerely wish everyone well in their next endeavors." Community Manager Tony Rey said that the remaining team would soldier on: "Today NC West announced staff reductions across its Western operations. While this impacted several colleagues, the teams here at Carbine are committed to supporting WildStar to ensure you get the experiences you want well into the future. We wish all of our friends well and hopefully our paths will cross again in the future." Polygon reports that an unnamed source claims that 60 employees were let go. One employee affected was Chief Client Engineer Bitwise, who said farewell on Twitter: "My amazing time at Carbine has come to an end. I can't adequately express my appreciation to the company and players. Thank you!" The WildStar developer recently saw several high-profile members of its team depart. Massively sends its regards to those impacted by the decision.
Warner Bros. confirms Turbine layoffs [Updated]
Turbine appears to be going through another round of layoffs that are possibly affecting the Lord of the Rings Online team, according to Twitter messages. Former Community Manager Rick Heaton seemed to confirm this in a tweet sent earlier today: "Thinking of my friends at #Turbine and #LOTRO and elsewhere today. I'm easy to find if you need me." Massively has reached out to the studio for an official comment. [Update: Warner Bros. has confirmed unspecified layoffs by issuing the following statement to Massively: "As part of our normal business process, we're routinely looking at the strategic alignment of our company. Unfortunately, in order for us to invest in growth areas at Turbine, we have to eliminate some positions. These are always tough decisions, which we don't approach lightly, but it's crucial that Turbine is structured in a way that reflects the current and coming marketplace."]
EA suffers additional layoffs
Citing a reorganization to focus on new technologies and mobile development, EA announced that it has let another round of its employees go. No firm numbers or estimates on how many were fired have been officially released, however. The publisher released the following statement on its blog: In recent weeks, EA has aligned all elements of its organizational structure behind priorities in new technologies and mobile. This has led to some difficult decisions to reduce the workforce in some locations. We are extremely grateful for the contributions made by each of our employees – those that are leaving EA will be missed by their colleagues and friends. These are hard but essential changes as we focus on delivering great games and showing players around the world why to spend their time with us. A Gamasutra source said that the EA Partners publishing label has been abolished in the reorganization, although the games it was handling are still in the works.
Disney shutters LucasArts
Following Disney's acquisition of Star Wars and its related companies and properties, gaming fans have wondered what might happen to developer LucasArts. Out of all of the possible scenarios, the worst has happened: Disney has stopped development in the studio and laid off its employees. From the official Disney statement: "After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles." Massively conveys its sympathies to those affected by the decision. There's no word yet how this might affect Star Wars: The Old Republic, if at all.
Trion Worlds goes through 'workforce reduction'
It's a gloomy day for Trion Worlds, as word has come down that the independent developer is handing out pink slips to some of its staff. The studio confirmed the layoffs in an official statement: As a response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company, we have made some organizational changes, which include a workforce reduction. This was a difficult decision and we wish the best for those affected by these changes. At Trion, we remain focused on delivering top quality online game experiences, and are committed to supporting RIFT and launching our highly anticipated new titles Defiance, Warface, and End of Nations in 2013. Twitter was ablaze over the subject, saying that as many as 30 people were let go. One staff member wrote, "I managed to survive this time. Lots of REALLY good people got let go though." Another indicated which jobs were lost: "Not a good day. If anyone has a lead for a Sr. EQ or Assistant Lead QA job, please let me know." Trion recently brought End of Nations in-house after Petroglyph suffered its own round of layoffs. [Source: Trion Worlds press statement]
Turbine hit with unspecified number of layoffs
The Boston Globe is reporting that Turbine has laid off an unspecified number of employees today due to restructuring. It's unclear how many of the 400-person workforce were let go. Warner Bros. Entertainment Group Spokeswoman Remi Sklar issued the following statement: "As part of the continual review of our business operations and fluctuating market conditions, we have had to make reductions in our Turbine workforce. The group continues to remain an integral part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment." Former Community Specialist Suzie Owen acknowledged on Twitter that she was one of those let go: "Looking for work in the Boston-Providence area. Any links would be most appreciated. I am unable to relocate at this time." Turbine recently hired several game industry veterans to include in its teams. Massively contacted Turbine for further clarification and received the same quote.
Rumor: Entire Faxion Online team laid off
Although the Faxion Online team has weathered layoffs before, today it looks as though none have survived a recent culling. According to a forum post citing a former UTV employee, it's rumored that the entire team has been given their pink slips. "It is now officially dead," the unnamed source wrote. "They laid off the rest of the Faxion team, so there is no one left to do anything." Disney recently bought out UTV Ignition, which oversees Faxion Online, and there was some speculation that the Mouse House might be making cuts in this struggling PvP MMO and elsewhere. So far this is an unconfirmed rumor, and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on Faxion going forward if true.
SOE suffers cutbacks as 35 employees are laid off
Four percent doesn't sound like a lot, but when it comes to Sony Online Entertainment, it represents nearly three dozen employees who no longer have a job. G4 reports that the company has let 35 people go from its full-time workforce in an effort to "better align the company's resources against areas of growth that meet consumer demand in today's online market as well as improve operational efficiency." The company is being tight-lipped as to the specifics of the cuts, including who was let go and from which development teams. This may come as a surprise to some, especially when you consider that SOE is riding high off of its Free Realms mega-success and is poised to launch several new titles including The Agency, DC Universe Online and Clone Wars Adventures. Hopefully we'll hear more details soon, but in the meantime you can read the full announcement over at G4.
GameTap fires editorial department, Read and Watch sections to shut down
GameTap is shutting down its relatively new editorial department and the entire staff has been given a couple of weeks notice. GameDaily reports that GameTap's Read and Watch sections, which are less than a year old, had a strong stable of veteran industry writers, but those sections will now be dismantled and integrated into the site's actual game pages.GameTap VP Rick Sanchez writes on the community boards that the service has been happy with the editorial team, but has decided to focus on the company's main business, which is its game catalog. Details are still lacking about what the new vision for GameTap is, but being an all-purpose mega-site with games and news to rival Gamespot or IGN is obviously not it.Update: We've placed GameTap's official statement on this issue after the break.
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights announced
THQ recently unveiled that they have a sequel to last generation's Juiced street racing title slated for a September release this year. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights is being developed for the 360, PS3 and PSP. It will have 93 licensed vehicles, tracks in Sydney, Paris, London, Rome, and San Francisco, and over licensed 10,000 components to be added to your car. Drifting races have apparently replaced the drag racing and showdown modes found in the original. We expect the ability to form car clubs, race for pink slips, and other features that made Juiced unique to remain intact for the new gen sequel. Were you a fan of the original, and would you want to play it on current generation consoles?
National Semi hands out pink slips, snatches "gift" iPods
He who giveth can also taketh away -- our parents used to use that line when threatening our young lives, but in the case of manufacturing giant National Semiconductor, it also holds true for iPods. You'll recall that in a transparent bid for publicity genuine show of appreciation for its employees last month, the company "gave" all 8,500 of them a 30GB iPod to celebrate record profits from the previous year -- although spokespeople were careful to only say that National Semi was "equipping" staff with the players, and apparently refused to speculate on whether or not terminated employees would be able to keep their "gifts." Well as it turns out, 35 workers recently laid off from the company's Arlington plant were in fact asked to hand in their 'Pods as they walked out the door, and those folks who had given theirs away were charged a "fair market value" to be paid from their soon-to-be-non-existent wages. Now we're no experts in public relations, but it seems that if you're going to make a big deal about how much your company values its employees, you'd want to do your best to avoid the sort of seemingly hypocritical behavior that publications such as ours just love to cover.[Via digg]
