Video game companies are bad | Microsoft wields the axe again; Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog closed

Eurogamer wrote:Telltale has confirmed job losses at the studio. "Due to current market conditions, we regrettably had to let some of our Telltale team go recently," it explained. "We did not take this action lightly, and our commitment to storytelling and finding new ways to do so remains the same. We are grateful to everyone for their dedication along this journey, and we are working to support everyone impacted."

Telltale did not reveal the number of employees affected by the layoffs...

ITSMILNER wrote:...What the hell is going on the last couple of weeks, so many devs getting laid off

jiggles wrote:Wouldn’t Clem be the telltale staff if Lee’s laying her off though?

jawa_ wrote:

Eurogamer wrote:Team17's company restructure is expected to see layoffs across the business, Eurogamer now understands - on top of the deep cuts to the company's QA department reported yesterday.

The developer's usability team is another set to see job losses, sources close to the company say, with further cuts expected in the studio's programming and marketing departments.

Dang, there could be even more people out of a job than initially expected.

twitter.com/deerhoof/status/1713978947468505133

Victor Mildew wrote:And this one time, at bandcamp, I got sacked.

Victor Mildew wrote:And this one time, at bandcamp, I got sacked.

Victor Mildew wrote:And this one time, at bandcamp, I got sacked.

Pedz wrote:

Victor Mildew wrote:And this one time, at bandcamp, I got sacked.

Did you also stick a flute in your pussy?

Eurogamer wrote:Frontier, the developer behind the likes of F1 Manager, Planet Zoo, and other management games, has announced layoffs as part of an organisational review of the business.

Investors were notified this morning in a trading update, in which the company said it plans to "refocus on its core strengths following a period of disappointing financial performance and more challenging industry conditions", reports GamesIndustry.biz.

It's currently unknown how many employees will lose their jobs.

Eurogamer wrote:Frontier aims to return to profitability and secure the future of the business by reducing annual operating costs by up to 20 percent.

This will be achieved through spending cuts, a freeze on recruitment, and the redundancies announced today following a consultation period expected to conclude by early 2024 alongside financial results in January.

SEP wrote:Funny how when they need to "reduce operating costs", they never get rid of the most expensive employees that do the least work.

Victor Mildew wrote:
Only keeping the elite on

PlayStation’s Visual Arts appears to have suffered layoffs

VISUAL ARTS HAS SUPPORTED SOME OF PLAYSTATION’S BIGGEST FRANCHISES

Among them, former senior level designer Daniel Bellemere wrote: ”Unfortunately, following a wave of layoffs last week was my last at PlayStation. While this is certainly not the news I was hoping for, I’m grateful to have had a chance to work amongst extremely talented colleagues on incredible projects and I’m leaving with good memories of my time there.”

Bellemere is based in San Diego, and was working on an unannounced project. It’s unclear if he was based at PlayStation’s Visual Arts Group, or Sony San Diego.

The San Diego-based Visual Arts Service Group was founded in 2007 with the goal of growing some of PlayStation’s biggest franchises.

Visual Arts Service Group was recently brought to prominence for its work on The Last of Us Part 1, work that reportedly saw the game be brought in-house at the original studio Naughty Dog to finish the project.

Another former employee, Matt Barney, wrote: “Goodbye PlayStation / Sony Interactive Entertainment, it’s been real! For the past few months, I knew this layoff wave was coming I love PlayStation & I always will… I mean, I stayed when I had the chance to leave, so obviously!

Other developers have posted on social media about their contracts with PlayStation’s Visual Arts Group ending, but it’s unclear if this was the natural conclusion of the contract term, or a layoff.

Rigging artist Sean Teo, who worked on The Last of Us Part 1, wrote on his LinkedIn page: “Hey everyone, my contract at PlayStation Visual Arts has unfortunately come to an end. I am currently looking for a new role and I am flexible with working on video games, cinematic films, and commercial work.”