Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Layoffs confirmed for 38 Studios, Rhode Island takes no action]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/21/layoffs-confirmed-for-38-studios-rhode-island-takes-no-action/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/21/layoffs-confirmed-for-38-studios-rhode-island-takes-no-action/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/21/layoffs-confirmed-for-38-studios-rhode-island-takes-no-action/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Schilling with reporters
If last week's Project Copernicus flythrough had been a hopeful note, the latest news out of 38 Studios is another downturn. Following a meeting today, the Rhode Island EDC board decided to take no action to help the ailing company at this time. Governor Lincoln Chafee said following the meeting that the financial situation of the studio remains unchanged from last week, but did note that the company has seen some layoffs and underwent unspecified internal shifts.

Founder Curt Schilling did not directly respond to press inquiries, stating that he would answer questions when he is able to do so. He did, however, state that he was not taking further taxpayer money. Whether or not there will be a company there to take any money in the near future is still very much in doubt, however, and while Chafee has been a bit more diplomatic about aiding the studio, he has stressed that any assistance would be far on the conservative side.

MassivelyLayoffs confirmed for 38 Studios, Rhode Island takes no action originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 May 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>38-studiosbusinesscurt-schillingfinancesfinancialfinancial-troubleslayofflayoffsmmo-industrynewsproject-copernicusrhode-islandstate-of-rhode-islandMon, 21 May 2012 22:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard announces layoffs of 600 employees worldwide]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/blizzard-announces-layoffs-of-600-employees-worldwide/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/blizzard-announces-layoffs-of-600-employees-worldwide/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/blizzard-announces-layoffs-of-600-employees-worldwide/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Blizzard Entertainment logo
Blizzard Entertainment, creator of the perennially popular World of Warcraft, announced today that it would be laying off 600 of its employees worldwide. While Blizzard takes care to note that WoW's development won't be impacted by the layoffs, we find it a bit difficult to take solace in that fact when hundreds of people are losing their jobs.

Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime commented on the layoffs, stating that "Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company." Understandable, perhaps, considering the fluctuating nature of the industry, but we still wish those Blizzard employees hit by the layoffs the very best in their future endeavors. Good luck, folks.

MassivelyBlizzard announces layoffs of 600 employees worldwide originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activision-blizzardblizzardblizzard-entertainmentdownsizingindustrylayofflayoffsmike-morhaimemmo-industryworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 29 Feb 2012 13:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Rumor: Red 5 Studios lays off one-third of its staff]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/27/rumor-red-5-studios-lays-off-one-third-of-its-staff/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/27/rumor-red-5-studios-lays-off-one-third-of-its-staff/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/27/rumor-red-5-studios-lays-off-one-third-of-its-staff/#commentsFiled under: ,

Their official site reads "Red 5 Studios is seeking highly talented and driven programmers to help us build a AAA massively multiplayer title."

Well, maybe not. A report from Gamasutra gives the news that we never like to hear or report: Red 5 Studios -- founded by former World of Warcraft team members -- has laid off approximately 30 people. This report comes from a "reliable source" close to Red 5, and if the number is accurate, it's nearly a third of their 100-man team. (That figure from a December 2008 interview with CEO Michael Weingartner.)

Red 5 Studios has been around since 2005, and as a rule has stayed very quiet regarding their ambitions for their upcoming MMO. They secured funding in 2006 and made some staff changes in 2008, but it's been mostly silent on the Studio 5 front for the most part, until now.

Our best wishes go out to those affected by the layoff, and to all involved.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in as a tip!]

Update: Red 5 has confirmed and clarified this rumor via a press release announcing the restructuring of the company: "As part of the restructuring, some team members chose to part ways while others were let go."

MassivelyRumor: Red 5 Studios lays off one-third of its staff originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BreakingGamasutralayofflayoffsmmo-industryred-5red-5-studiosWed, 27 Jan 2010 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Gazillion layoffs hit Romero's Slipgate Ironworks]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/18/gazillion-layoffs-hit-romeros-slipgate-ironworks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/18/gazillion-layoffs-hit-romeros-slipgate-ironworks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/18/gazillion-layoffs-hit-romeros-slipgate-ironworks/#commentsFiled under: ,


Whatever Gazillion Entertainment's secret mastermind plot is, their next step has been to create an unfortunate situation for a suspected 50 now ex-employees at Slipgate Ironworks. The reasoning? According to Gazillion, "As part of our focus on reaching the widest possible audiences with breakthrough MMO entertainment, we decided to change the format of our project at Slipgate Ironworks to better achieve this aim," So, whatever unannounced MMO the team was working on is now canned, it would seem.

At least there's a silver lining, in some sense. Gazillion also stated, "-the other Slipgate staff are already in discussions around the many open positions across our slate of projects." You know what? We'd make another world conquering joke here, but that'd be too easy. Instead, we're just going to sit in our chair, pet our cat and sip this lovely whipped latte. Oh, whoops, guess we just can't help ourselves sometimes.

Seriously though, next year is going to be interesting, because the official statement alludes to something being released from the publisher next year. Unless they're just talking about Jumpgate Evolution -- at least, we hope that comes out by next year -- and then we're not really sure why they just didn't say as much.

MassivelyGazillion layoffs hit Romero's Slipgate Ironworks originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gamasutragazilliongazillion-entertainmentjgejohn-romerojumpgate-evolutionlayofflayoffsnetdevilslipgate-ironworksSun, 18 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Former Warhammer Online GM gives perspective on game's decline]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/07/former-warhammer-online-gm-gives-perspective-on-games-decline/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/07/former-warhammer-online-gm-gives-perspective-on-games-decline/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/07/former-warhammer-online-gm-gives-perspective-on-games-decline/#commentsFiled under: , ,


At Massively we must often report on declining subscription numbers and subsequent layoffs in the MMO industry, just as we do when the games we love are healthy and growing. When you look beyond the numbers though, such industry statistics are ultimately about people whose lives have been negatively impacted. They face uncertainty in their career and likely have tough times ahead.

Case in point: We've written about the Mythic Entertainment layoffs from the view of an outside observer of the MMO industry, but of course there's a side to this that only someone who's worked there can really convey. Some have a story they'd like to tell, like Jeremy Monken, former games reviewer for a D.C. newspaper turned Warhammer Online GM at Mythic Entertainment.

Continue reading Former Warhammer Online GM gives perspective on game's decline

MassivelyFormer Warhammer Online GM gives perspective on game's decline originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>jeremy-monkenlayofflayoffsmmo-industrymythicmythic-entertainmentreal-lifesubscription-numbersthe-escapistwarwarhammer-onlineFri, 07 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine announces bi-coastal layoffs]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/16/turbine-announces-bi-coastal-layoffs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/16/turbine-announces-bi-coastal-layoffs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/16/turbine-announces-bi-coastal-layoffs/#commentsFiled under: , ,


It's been going around. Last week saw Sony dropping staff (again), though not from SOE. Now Turbine has announced an undisclosed number of staff cutbacks from their QA and Account Management divisions. Both the Massachusetts and California locations have been impacted by this. The company has specified that they are not looking to outsource these functions, merely reduce redundancies.

Turbine has stated that there are no plans to reduce efforts going forward on Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online or any other projects. This is especially important considering the recent launch of Mines of Moria, the first expansion to LotRO. In fact, they are currently hiring - just in other departments.

MassivelyTurbine announces bi-coastal layoffs originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>layofflayoffslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotroturbineTue, 16 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blackstar's future in jeopardy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/blackstars-future-in-jeopardy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/blackstars-future-in-jeopardy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/blackstars-future-in-jeopardy/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Budget cuts. Layoffs. It seems a fairly common thing in the general news lately, and sadly, the MMO genre appears to be no less susceptible to the current hard times. News came down the wire yesterday that Spacetime Studios have been forced to release half of their staff -- and we imagine that this will cause the development of Blackstar to slow down accordingly. According to the Spacetime Studios blog, "[they] have been shopping Blackstar around but - right now, at least - the concept of a SciFi space/ground IP has proven to be a challenge. Our studio cannot survive at its current burn rate without a publishing deal..."

Considering we've seen quite a few studios hit by either cutbacks or shutdowns in the last year, we're concerned by what this seemingly implies. With the current popularity of World of Warcraft and other MMOs; strong soon-to-be-published titles like Warhammer Online; and news of more and more titles coming out seemingly every other day (especially if you count the Asian market) it is a good time for MMOG players. On the other hand, the heavy market saturation means an extremely competitive market where some good ideas may sadly not find their way off the drawing board.

The hope is that Spacetime Studios can find a publishing deal for Blackstar soon. We are definitely interested in seeing more from their studio, if their concept art and ideas are any indication of what things may come. If you'd like to check out a short clip of Blackstar's alpha, be sure to join us after the break!

Gallery: Star Legends


Continue reading Blackstar's future in jeopardy

MassivelyBlackstar's future in jeopardy originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blackstarcutbacklayoffnew-titlespublisherpublishing-dealspacetime-studiosstaff-layoffFri, 01 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST