Microsoft and Xbox are responsible for this year's most brutal wave of layoffs. Earlier this year, they axed 1,600 people, gutted beloved studios like Obsidian and ID Software, and allowed others like Double Fine and Compulsion to go independent.
They weren't done there though, as last month, Obsidian and Rare were squished into Bethesda and Activision respectively, and Halo Studios was gutted and had the game series it's named after snatched from it. With more layoffs confirmed to be on the way before the fiscal year is out, you can understand why almost every developer still at an Xbox studio is worried they're next on the chopping block.
In fact, Gears of War: E-Day developer The Coalition is apparently fearful that the axe is being sharpened for them right now, despite being on the verge of releasing one of the most-well received Gears of War games in well over a decade.
According to a new report from Eurogamer, several employees at The Coalition are extremely worried about the potential for post-launch layoffs thanks to the recent departure of the game's story director, Juan Vaca, who was laid off two weeks before the game's release. It's also reported that a handful of other developers were quietly let go as well, with current employees describing it as "very demoralizing."
Now, instead of being excited that they just released a critically acclaimed game, they're now dreading Xbox's next wave of mass layoffs, resigning themselves to being "reorganized under Activision or something later this year."
To make matters even worse, some people at The Coalition believe that layoffs could happen so Xbox doesn't have to pay the developers Metacritic score bonuses. Eurogamer has apparently confirmed that such a bonus does exist as part of Gears of War: E-Day's development, and now losing that payout by getting laid off has become a "morbid joke" around the office.
With Gears of War: E-Day currently sitting at an impressive score of 88 on Metacritic right now, it seems difficult to imagine that bonus hasn't been met, but employees are saying they "wouldn't put it past Microsoft" to try and weasel out of paying them. It's all incredibly grim, and not really how developers should be feeling after the culmination of years of hard work.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.thegamer.com/gears-of-war-e-day-devs-fearful-layoffs-after-launch/
