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Defiance: Trion Rocked by Layoffs
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
UPDATE: According to information we have received from Trion Worlds, no employees were "escorted out" of the building and all executives are receiving severance packages.
Update from IGN: Trion tells us these numbers are "exaggerated," and we've reached out for more information regarding the extent of the layoffs.)
IGN is reporting that Trion employees have been laid off, primarily from the Defiance San Diego team.
A Trion representative confirmed the layoffs and provided the following statement to IGN:
"To best position Trion in a rapidly changing industry, we have reorganized our teams and are expanding our free to play offering. With Defiance, we delivered a great game that more than one million gamers registered to play and continue to enjoy. As we progress from launch to ongoing development of the game, we are adjusting our staffing levels to deliver new content and improved features. RIFT, and our other titles in development, were unaffected by these changes. We are very much looking forward to the free to play release of RIFT and are excited by the other new titles currently in development."
Read more at IGN.
Comments
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
Could be. Gonna wait and see.
An estimated 80% of the company was hit, I doubt that is it.
Taken from the IGN article:
Update: Trion tells us these numbers are "exaggerated," and we've reached out for more information regarding the extent of the layoffs.)
No signature, I don't have a pen
nethervoid - Est. '97
[UO|EQ|SB|SWG|PS|HZ|EVE|NWN|WoW|VG|DF|AQW|DN|SWTOR|Dofus|SotA|BDO|AO|NW|LA] - Currently Playing EQ1
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If that is just standard i wonder why Anet didn't lay off anyone after GW2 release?
Fact is that if you make a crap game like Defiance..layoffs and loss in income is something hard to avoid.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
Sort of sad that people don't realize what they perceive as a standard development cycle is really due to the inability of the title to attract a steady paying audience like WOW, EVE, or ANET have managed to do therefore they don't go through the same cycles.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Because CCP didn't have serious finance issues and never had to lay workers off several years ago you're saying?
Indeed.. that is why 'it is a standard' is the new excuse to cover up the failure.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
Yeah, it seems so. Seems pretty standard anymore.
actually "standard" is because it de facto is standard these days... Unless you can shift the staff over to another project you "trim" the organization... It is not only game development that does this. You have a project, hire people for the project and once the project is done the people not needed are terminated.
Now ofc we do not know if this is one of those cases or if it is because they are dipping to deep in to the red.
As for why ArenaNET did not do this trimming.. maybe the had other projects to put people on.. like... expansions.
But to claim that it is just due to failing is a bit naive.
This have been a good conversation
As naive as claiming that it is a standard the moment MMO sales turn out to be average?
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
That's how it's always been. The exceptions are when development is complete, and you keep everyone. Not as common.
But this is true for any creative medium. When the project is finished, layoffs loom. Which is why I am working towards leaving the art field.
They are talking about End of Narions and Defiance I'm sure.For these two games along with RIFT, Trion was given 100 million dollars.
Where did the money go? End of Nations was a joke of a rts, and defiance is at best a lie.
I'd be wondering what the hell happened too
while true, there should be one small round of layoffs there. too many cooks.
you're seeing what TRION is really worth when they're not Xeroxing WoW and EQ2. hell, the unique features to RIFT not found in those games all sucked big time, that was a clue right there.
Did i not explain it just a few lines up... Yes i did honeybun... yes i did.
Let me try again.
When... A... Project... Is... Done... It.. Is... Common... Practice... To... Trim... The... Organization... In... Order... To... Avoid... Having... Redundant... Employees.
Especially if it is unclear how much money will be invested in the project going forward, such as in this case i would guess (as it is most likely tied in to how well both the game and the series is doing. Shout the series tank for an example my guess is that the budget for the game is a lot smaller. So it is a lot easier to fire people now and re-hire/hire people once the need arise.
Is it a good.. or humane way to do things.. Nope... But that is the way it works.
That does not equal me saying there is no chance that this is not about failing finances... In fact i would guess it ties directly in to said problem. But that does not make it any less standard to trim the workforce one a project is completed.
This have been a good conversation
You can write it even slower and put it in bolds but still i don't see how believing in opposite of what you believe is any more naive.
If you want to tell me that it is a standard for MMOS that didn't do too well financially then yes i would agree. Obviously i don't have any internal data neither do you to make an educated guess but it has become a very common practice especially in case of MMOS which had lack luster sales.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
Defiance was so mediocre and unfinished that this comes as no surprise
When you make an MMO for a tv show that's already been canceled for being terrible you've already got the worst word of mouth you could possibly imagine
From everything I've seen regarding Defiance, it lacks any compelling reason to play. The fact is, there are many games that offer the same and more, and they are also free. That leaves only one remaining enticement: it's new. That's a fickle inducement to a nomadic gaming community.
That said, you don't get to make that mistake very many times due to the massive expense and long development cycle that mmo's typically require.
Making the game a tv tie in is just hedging bets on an already risky proposition, which together spells disaster. Now they're taking Rift f2p and there is just too much uncertainty.
If I was running the show, I'd do exactly the same thing. Cut staff, see how Rift f2p pans out and make damn sure Archeage has a successful launch sooner than later.