adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
edit:
Schrier also corroborates.
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Paul Tassi: Layoffs at Bungie - Happening Now.
- Thread starter adamsapple
- Start date
edit:
Schrier also corroborates.
elcapitano
Member
That sucks.
Also goes to show those slagging Naughty Dog for being poorly run because Bungie criticized Factions doesn't make sense.
I would also argue it might show that Bungie shouldn't have had a say in a Naughty Dog game in the first place. Just like Naughty Dog shouldnt have a say in anything Bungie do.
Let the studios make and release what they want.
Anyway like the Naughty Dog Lay offs these are companies planning for the future in terms of how fucked the economy is becoming
Also goes to show those slagging Naughty Dog for being poorly run because Bungie criticized Factions doesn't make sense.
I would also argue it might show that Bungie shouldn't have had a say in a Naughty Dog game in the first place. Just like Naughty Dog shouldnt have a say in anything Bungie do.
Let the studios make and release what they want.
Anyway like the Naughty Dog Lay offs these are companies planning for the future in terms of how fucked the economy is becoming
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SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
Companies shouldnt be allowed to buy other companies for $3.2 billion only to lay them off months later.
If you cant afford to pay these employees, you clearly dont have enough cash to support them. We should make laws to limit layoffs at acquired companies for at least 5-10 years. I cant go out and sign a contract for a 12 months of lawn services then cancel it because i couldnt afford to pay people to mow my lawn anymore. if i dont pay my outstanding bill, it gets sent to collections. Maybe sony, ms, tencent and embracer consolidating the industry should be held to the same standards.
If you cant afford to pay these employees, you clearly dont have enough cash to support them. We should make laws to limit layoffs at acquired companies for at least 5-10 years. I cant go out and sign a contract for a 12 months of lawn services then cancel it because i couldnt afford to pay people to mow my lawn anymore. if i dont pay my outstanding bill, it gets sent to collections. Maybe sony, ms, tencent and embracer consolidating the industry should be held to the same standards.
Punished Miku
Gaslighter Pro: 16.7 Fireflops
100 meter dash
StreetsofBeige
Member
Sony profit dopped below $2 billion as per latest fiscal year. Before that it was $2-3B for years.
Got to lay off people in hopes of edging back to $2B+.
It's karma though. Bungie was hired to be the master overseer of Sony's GAAS games in development. And Factions 2 is supposedly cancelled. Now some Bungie people are too. Maybe some of their existing studios told execs Bungie guys are doing fuck all too, so fire some of them back. lol
Got to lay off people in hopes of edging back to $2B+.
It's karma though. Bungie was hired to be the master overseer of Sony's GAAS games in development. And Factions 2 is supposedly cancelled. Now some Bungie people are too. Maybe some of their existing studios told execs Bungie guys are doing fuck all too, so fire some of them back. lol
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Interfectum
Member
Games as a Service is crashing and burning. You have 5-6 games at the top that dominate and the rest just fall into oblivion. These high level execs know this and don't give a fuck... they'll just keep throwing bodies at it hoping they hit the Fortnite lotto too and there is very little consequence for them if they fail.
Gavon West
Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Layoffs are a part of the business. No one is immune. Sucks but they are a necessary evil in order for business to remain in business. Highs and lows.
geary
Member
Magic Carpet
Gold Member
Is Bungie the largest of the Sony guys?
Buggy Loop
Gold Member
Multi-billion company buyouts i've seen before, experienced it even, had jobs security assured for 2~3 years, the buyer could not even lay a finger.
StealthGoblin
Banned
Sony set aside over $1b to pay and retain bungie staff. I'd imagine this is due to reorganisation or product development prioritisation.
Unfortunately, it's not the same Destiny that everyone raved about back in the day.
It's just filled with microtransactions now.
StreetsofBeige
Member
Of course they dont give a fuck.
All the big corporations who can withstand games failing will just try again until one hits.
A Sony exec last year even said that with their 10+ GAAS games in development that "all it takes is one to be successful to cover the rest". Nobody would expect any game company making 10 GAAS in about 2 years release time will bat 1.000. But for non-GAAS games the thinking is each game needs to be a winner. For the giant stakes of GAAS, it truly is a case of if one becomes successful along side Fortnite, COD, PUBG etc.... all you really need is one huge winner.
elcapitano
Member
As I always said 99% of GAAS service won't retain a player base. It's literally impossible.
GAAS is simply a gamble of throwing enough shit at the wall and hoping one of them succeeds. However if Sony cancelled Factions then they are very stupid because you have to release them to even have a chance of succeeding.
And at worst Factions would do half decent because of the IP. It's one of the few they have that would probably be a guarantee at making money. The rest are more that likely to lose money imo.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
That's the crazy part. The economy isn't "F'ed" up right now. Things are just out of balance due to the ending of Covid, inflation being high, and interest rates being high due to those matters. Companies are just shuffling their boards to better reflect the current reality.
But again.....the economy is not bad at the moment.
Interfectum
Member
Elysium44
Banned
That would be a recipe for stagnation.
Punished Miku
Gaslighter Pro: 16.7 Fireflops
Exact same as the MMO boom / bust. People can make compelling MMOs but at the end of the day people don't have enough hours in the day to ever play more than 1 of these. So the best one stays and most others die.
I don't know if that is what's happening here though since Bungie is one of the top ones.
Daneel Elijah
Member
Not the first thread about Sony studios having layoffs. Always sorry about the people that get fired. But with Jim Ryan deciding to retire soon I think that Sony may be using that to clean house before the transition maybe ? Each time it was a few people or a targeted group. Curious to see if we will get more of this kind of news in the next few months.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
LOL!!! You joke, but I honestly think you are on to something.
StreetsofBeige
Member
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bender
What time is it?
Not to mention it would reduce avenues a struggling company could utilize to help turn things around.
Freeman76
Member
Sad sign of the times, greed feeds the guys at the top, they are usually safe, but others...not so much.
Their model for Destiny is one of the scummiest I've ever seen. I love the game but dont play it because I feel dirty playing it lol.
Maybe its not paying off as well as they planned, which is shit for those affected.
Their model for Destiny is one of the scummiest I've ever seen. I love the game but dont play it because I feel dirty playing it lol.
Maybe its not paying off as well as they planned, which is shit for those affected.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
You sure? What other layoffs did Playstation have recently?
Guntherlibby
Member
If your company gets acquired you should be dusting off your resume. It's never a good thing for your company to be bought out, unless your contract says you will get compensated.
Activision employees take note.
Activision employees take note.
silent head
Member
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
There was no gassing here. Everyone knew what the situation was. That was transparent.
Salty Popsicle
Banned
If the rumors of Sony backtracking on their GAAS plans have any truth to them, then laying off a portion of staff at Bungie, which is now their #1 GAAS developer makes sense. I wonder if Bungie regrets going through with the deal now that it seems Sony's change of heart has placed Bungie on the sidelines for all intents and purposes going forward.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Isn't there a middle ground between Bungie being Playstation's number 1 developer and being put on the sidelines?
Guntherlibby
Member
They bought Bungie to acquire their knowledge of engineering and designing live service games.
Not to acquire more HR, recruiters, and community managers.
Salty Popsicle
Banned
Not their #1 developer overall, that title should unequivocally go to Insomniac. I mean Sony's #1 in terms of pushing the GAAS initiative both with their upcoming games (Marathon) and by being overseers of other GAAS projects being made by other Sony studios (Naught Dog Factions).
Daneel Elijah
Member
News - Game Dev - Sources: Media Molecule to layoff 15-20% of staff
GLHF sources say UK game developer Media Molecule plans a round of layoffs with around 20 jobs being on the chopping block. Targeting a headcount of 115 employees, this is a significant reduction from the roughly 135-strong workforce. Employees were informed about this in an internal meeting...
PlayStation Is Being Hit With A New Wave Of Layoffs
https://twistedvoxel.com/playstation-hit-with-new-wave-of-layoffs/ PlayStation (or Sony Interactive Entertainment) is being hit with a wave of layoffs, based on the latest information. According to the Linkedin posts from Daniel Bellemare, who was a Senior Level Designer on an unannounced...
adamsapple
remember about some others?Good question.
GHG
Member
The great unwinding of the direction Jim Ryan had set them on.
Well, hopefully. If not then more heads need to roll.
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Salty Popsicle
Banned
Bungie under the terms of their agreement with Sony are still able to self-publish and engage with players on platforms that are not PlayStation. In that case, all those roles you just listed still remain very much needed.
StreetsofBeige
Member
Post covid streamlining. No different than other tech companies who cracked down hard from covid fall out. Peloton and Zoom are gigantic before and after scenes.
Sony's gaming division had it's best profits during covid lockdown years. When things are on the up and up, every company has loose pocketbooks. But Its trending down lately dropping below $2 billion. So it's time to cut the fat. The games division is their most important driver of growth and profits for years, so they cant afford to let it slip.
GHG
Member
Literally none of those roles are related to anything you listed.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Sad to see, and hopefully all the impacted folks will quickly land on their feet.
From what I gather it looks like a big part of the social media & community management team has been canned. Also HR, Legal and some producer roles.
From what I gather it looks like a big part of the social media & community management team has been canned. Also HR, Legal and some producer roles.
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Punished Miku
Gaslighter Pro: 16.7 Fireflops
After critiquing Factions, Bungie said their own game wasn't engaging enough and canceled themselves. Their standards are that high.
Salty Popsicle
Banned
I would say this is generally true, unless the company being acquired was already floundering creatively or financially. Activision had no financial issues from what I can tell, but creatively and in terms of management, they had had problems for at least a decade.