As we come out of our largest launch season in the company's history, we can confirm that we did eliminate a handful of positions to focus our efforts on game development, publishing, and operation.
We always strive to keep everyone following launches and have done so in recent years. While we did bring a number of people into game development positions, we regrettably could not bring all of them. We deeply appreciate their efforts, and their contributions should not in any way be diminished or forgotten.
In other words, We ramp up for a game launch, then axe people after launch. Unfortunately; pretty much the paradigm for the MMO industry and most of the programmers and community staff work like slaves pre-launch getting ready to make thee experience great for all of us.
With my comments as they are, it seems a pretty honest statement from Perfect World; it is what it is. I'm hoping folks laid off can quickly find new positions. Losing a job sucks. It makes someone feel defeated. It is particularly rugged after expending so much effort after these people do in launching a game; like running a marathon and hitting a wall right after the finish line. I hope they were given some severance so they get a little breathing room.
As to the comments about either of these companies struggling? I doubt it. They wouldn't get to that stage preferring to nuke positions long before getting to that point. Other studios might hold on to people "too long." - you know if they cared about them...
I don't have much respect for Trion these days given my experience with them post Rift and I won't play a game using their mandatory platform (Glyph)
I avoid most PWE games like the plague as well. Most of them have just hideous cash shops. I've been a little disturbed, as I believe they have a distribution agreement with Crowfall. Maybe someone can confirm as to whether that is outside the US or here too?
That sucks, but since both companies are very anti-customer and also have terrible P2W games, I can only hope that this might make them realize they should change their stance on both of those.
Exactly. The way they handled trove archeage and tried to make sweeping changes to both Rift and Defiance in a negative way it's surprising they are still in business.
Do you folks remember Trion having drastic layoffs back in 2013?
Do you guys remember back in 2014 when Archeage was in beta and they sold a mega-ton of founders packages but then they did the old switch-a-rooni and drastically cut labor points as well as nerfing the crap out of other things?
Do you guys remember back in 2015 when that special someone said that Trion had a record year in 2014 and all the doom and gloom posts about how they ruined their reputation was just silly?
Guess that short term gain wasn't all it was cracked up to be eh Hartsman???
"Sean (Murray) saying MP will be in the game is not remotely close to evidence that at the point of purchase people thought there was MP in the game." - SEANMCAD
Yeah because Trion did so well with that whole AA 3.0 thing. Both of these companies can burn to the ground and die and everyone would be better off. I can't imagine working there is any more fun than being a customer.
Yeah because Trion did so well with that whole AA 3.0 thing. Both of these companies can burn to the ground and die and everyone would be better off. I can't imagine working there is any more fun than being a customer.
Yes its because of bad decisions, if I was the one dictator giving orders on how to develop and design a video-game or MMORPG this shit wouldn't happen, and I sure as hell "Would Never" Publish a game from a foreign company at all unless I have the rights to make any type of changes I want to to the game or leave content the way it is aka how Arche Age got screwed up...
Sure if I had the millions ID rather hire the developers create a new Korean MMO like "Black Desert" Make it more causual, more fun, no Time Limits on things always bosses to kill things to do no more things like black desert getting bored farming Ancient Coins and all that stuff of saving up scrolls each week and being forced to repeat, or things like Arche Age did with major PVP / same faction griefing that destroyed the game.
Heck if I was in charge of every decision made on other games like (Final Fantasy XIV) players wouldn't have the housing issues they have today more people would enjoy the game too... Im so sick of the ignorance in MMO development.
While I don't play Trion games current, I'm glad there are some larger companies out there other than blizzard. As an aside, I'm not playing any blizzard games either!
Competition is Alway good. What is wrong with you guys wanting a a company like Trion to fail?! They aren't even close to that bad!
Yet somehow they always spin it to look good. Lowes for example saying they will only let go 1% jobs and it ended up being more like 5%. Lots of spin to make things look good when they are not.
Yet somehow they always spin it to look good. Lowes for example saying they will only let go 1% jobs and it ended up being more like 5%. Lots of spin to make things look good when they are not.
Lying and half-truths are so common in politics and business these days that even when they get caught red-handed they spin that as well and call it "alternative facts."
The real wonder is that everyone is not 100% cynical about everything and still talk themselves into believing spin.
Lay-offs suck because it's always the regular Joes trying to do an honest day's work that get the ax. The weasels always manage to stay on.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
As we come out of our largest launch season in the company's history, we can confirm that we did eliminate a handful of positions to focus our efforts on game development, publishing, and operations.
I love these type of statements as if the people whom were fired kept distracting the company from doing those things and wanted to make refrigerators instead.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
The last game that Trion actually developed that had any real success was Rift, so they really don't employ very many actual developers. Now they just hire people that repeat things like "we are working with XL games to resolve the issue" That doesn't really require a large staff or highly qualified people.
The last game that Trion actually developed that had any real success was Rift, so they really don't employ very many actual developers. Now they just hire people that repeat things like "we are working with XL games to resolve the issue" That doesn't really require a large staff or highly qualified people.
I guess you missed the whole Trove thing... here are the steam spy stats:
Score rank: 45% Userscore: 78% Old userscore: 78% Owners: 7,450,857 ± 75,609 Players in the last 2 weeks: 221,588 ± 13,167 (2.97%)
7 mil players over 2 years on steam alone.
Now add up the PS4 and XB1 console players to the above number- and it's still beta on consoles - yeah.
We will probably get something like"Nobody was let go, Trion just made room for an influx of new talent. They are actually hiring". Either from DMKano or in an "interview" from Hartsman on this site.
We will probably get something like"Nobody was let go, Trion just made room for an influx of new talent. They are actually hiring". Either from DMKano or in an "interview" from Hartsman on this site.
Not necessarily true DMKano...I was recently let go from a formerly major retailer...dont want to say the name so let's say it rhymes with Shears...within a week my former boss (who did not make the decision, that was his boss) called me to ask my advice on an issue with a client...a week later he called again and twice the next...I helped as best I could, and had no issue with him calling...I know the shitty situation he got stuck with. For companies that are what we call "fiscally distressed" there comes a time when someone in corporate says cut payroll...NOW...so they make the cuts and based on the next quarters savings and deal with the consequences later. Often, those companies realize they cut in the wrong are and end up re-hiring later. Maybe Trion got rid of the right people and are looking to hire people with the proper skill-set. If they were professional they would FIRE people who did not have thise skills, or not hire them in the first place...
Lay-offs are lay-offs...they are on the company and the company pays for it- I got 3 months "transition pay" to not work. People who dont have the skills typically get fired unless their bosses are unable or unwilling to document their specific performance deficiencies.
#NeverForgetAA Trion went from being one of my favorite dev's/publishers with Rift, to the bottom of the barrel after AA. Lost my respect and willingness to ever touch one of their products forever.
Haxus Council Member 21 year MMO veteran PvP Raid Leader Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
Comments
Always a shame when someone loses their job, hope she is re employed soon.
They've prolly out-sourced most of it to some underpaid Asian developer.
Usually front line staff (customer service etc) are the first let go..not the uppity ups in the fancy office upstairs. :P
UPDATE FROM TRION WORLDS:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
With my comments as they are, it seems a pretty honest statement from Perfect World; it is what it is. I'm hoping folks laid off can quickly find new positions. Losing a job sucks. It makes someone feel defeated. It is particularly rugged after expending so much effort after these people do in launching a game; like running a marathon and hitting a wall right after the finish line. I hope they were given some severance so they get a little breathing room.
As to the comments about either of these companies struggling? I doubt it. They wouldn't get to that stage preferring to nuke positions long before getting to that point. Other studios might hold on to people "too long." - you know if they cared about them...
I don't have much respect for Trion these days given my experience with them post Rift and I won't play a game using their mandatory platform (Glyph)
I avoid most PWE games like the plague as well. Most of them have just hideous cash shops. I've been a little disturbed, as I believe they have a distribution agreement with Crowfall. Maybe someone can confirm as to whether that is outside the US or here too?
Seaspite
Playing ESO on my X-Box
Exactly. The way they handled trove archeage and tried to make sweeping changes to both Rift and Defiance in a negative way it's surprising they are still in business.
Do you guys remember back in 2014 when Archeage was in beta and they sold a mega-ton of founders packages but then they did the old switch-a-rooni and drastically cut labor points as well as nerfing the crap out of other things?
Do you guys remember back in 2015 when that special someone said that Trion had a record year in 2014 and all the doom and gloom posts about how they ruined their reputation was just silly?
Guess that short term gain wasn't all it was cracked up to be eh Hartsman???
Sure if I had the millions ID rather hire the developers create a new Korean MMO like "Black Desert" Make it more causual, more fun, no Time Limits on things always bosses to kill things to do no more things like black desert getting bored farming Ancient Coins and all that stuff of saving up scrolls each week and being forced to repeat, or things like Arche Age did with major PVP / same faction griefing that destroyed the game.
Heck if I was in charge of every decision made on other games like (Final Fantasy XIV) players wouldn't have the housing issues they have today more people would enjoy the game too... Im so sick of the ignorance in MMO development.
Competition is Alway good. What is wrong with you guys wanting a a company like Trion to fail?! They aren't even close to that bad!
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
The real wonder is that everyone is not 100% cynical about everything and still talk themselves into believing spin.
Lay-offs suck because it's always the regular Joes trying to do an honest day's work that get the ax. The weasels always manage to stay on.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
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.
No further comment....
Lay-offs are lay-offs...they are on the company and the company pays for it- I got 3 months "transition pay" to not work. People who dont have the skills typically get fired unless their bosses are unable or unwilling to document their specific performance deficiencies.
21 year MMO veteran
PvP Raid Leader
Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
Check yourself because regular people who are just doing their jobs work at these places.