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Layoffs at Suckerpunch confirmed, includes staff from Sly Cooper era (maybe 20-40%)

H

hodayathink

Member
labaronx said:
I get that. But will they only do infamous games is my question
Click to expand...

I think Verendus said in another thread that every major WWS developer is being given a chance to do something new/different. Some may take it (Guerilla with their RPG), some may not (I doubt Polyphony is working on anything other than Gran Turismo right now). So I think if they end up doing another Infamous, it's because they couldn't think of a better idea/anything they wanted to do more.
 
N

Nightengale

Member
labaronx said:
I get that. But will they only do infamous games is my question
Click to expand...

That's really up to Nate Fox.

I'm sure Infamous is profitable for Sony,but it's clearly not a heavyweight and I don't think there'll be any pressure from Sony if SP wants to move on to new properties.

If anything, they'd probably recommend it since Infamous was such a leap from Sly, and another leap of that caliber would be awesome.
 
NeededSleep

NeededSleep

Member
Hope for a quick turnaround for the folks. One hard working and talented group of people.


<3
Thank you for the games you helped create.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins

Dr. Kitty Muffins

Member
msdstc said:
That's definitely not the case given the sales, and the fact that Guerilla and Japan Studios still exist... not to mention David Cage games.



Sony should just acquire them and get this done.
Click to expand...


Killzone sold well on the PS4 and no one uses that to claim it is a great game. Infamous has always been a good series that has been just shy of reaching that next level of quality where it creates a craze.

Btw, it sold well in part because it was a good title on a platform desperate for quality exclusives. If Sony wants the studio to eventually become elite, I think layoffs might have been their way of cleaning house. They may be replaced with outsiders. Given that it is now confirmed that long time employees have been let go, my guess may be right.
 
V

Vast.

Banned
Sony has been shutting down a lot of studios in the past few years to become leaner and focused.

And the popularity of the PS4 is doing nothing to reverse the trend. Some of their biggest studios have seen layoffs in the past 12 months. Hopefully this is not indicative of a lesser focus in in-house development.
 
T

Takao

Banned
Hero of Legend said:
I thought the Sly folks all left years ago. The creator did and formed Loose Cannon, that went bust when Konami didn't pay them for Tornado Outbreak (is that legal?!), he went to Pop Cap, might've left, not sure.
Click to expand...

I'm not a lawyer, but that seems shady as heck.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins

Dr. Kitty Muffins

Member
Vast. said:
Sony has been shutting down a lot of studios in the past few years to become leaner and focused.

And the popularity of the PS4 is doing nothing to reverse the trend. Some of their biggest studios have seen layoffs in the past 12 months. Hopefully this is not indicative of a lesser focus in in-house development.
Click to expand...

I hope they aren't so narrow minded as to think they can get by with fewer exclusives just because they are winning the console race. Today, console gaming is competing with smartphone and PC gaming for what time americans can devote to leisure. They need console exclusive experiences to compete with those platforms. Now is the time to plan for a future flood of exclusivity, not less. No one wants a console that says "me too" to the PC.
 
O

OnPoint

Member
I'm so sorry for the affected folks.

May you find fruitful and fulfilling work ahead.

I look forward to some of the inevitable indie projects that spawn from this, and hope they are successful.
 
element

element

Member
makingmusic476 said:
Maybe just the usual contraction after finishing a big project? First Light is finished and now they're doing pre-production on their next title
Click to expand...

travisbickle said:
Might not be layoffs, just end of contractual agreements.
Click to expand...

IAmRandom31 said:
Very likely just the normal layoffs that occur once a project is done.
Click to expand...

TomShoe said:
It's probably just the usual contraction of staff after First Light finished.
Click to expand...
You all suck for instantly thinking that!

Educated guess from my Facebook and Twitter:
Around 30% to 40% of the staff were laid off.
Majority of these are full time exempt employees (salary positions).
Some have been at Sucker Punch over 10 years.
All areas effected including design, programming, art, marketing, production, and test.

My heart goes out to all those effected.
 
L

Lemondish

Member
element said:
You all suck for instantly thinking that!

Educated guess from my Facebook and Twitter:
Around 30% to 40% of the staff were laid off.
Majority of these are full time exempt employees (salary positions).
Some have been at Sucker Punch over 10 years.
All areas effected including design, programming, art, marketing, production, and test.

My heart goes out to all those effected.
Click to expand...

Forgive me, but who are you? Why should we treat your Facebook or Twitter as anything concrete? I can speculate like no one's business, but it doesn't mean anyone should listen lol
 
J

jackissocool

Member
Sorry to hear this, Sucker Punchers. You made a great game and you have much to be proud of! I'm sure people will want to snatch you up after good shit like that.
 
L

Linearskillz

Member
element said:
You all suck for instantly thinking that!

Educated guess from my Facebook and Twitter:
Around 30% to 40% of the staff were laid off.
Majority of these are full time exempt employees (salary positions).
Some have been at Sucker Punch over 10 years.
All areas effected including design, programming, art, marketing, production, and test.

My heart goes out to all those effected.
Click to expand...
40%?! What the hell man that sucks I thought things would be going well since it seemed Infamous was a success.
 
B

BigDug13

Member
I'm really bummed about this. inFamous 1 and 2 were some of my favorites last gen. This last one while visually beautiful wasn't as much fun to me as the others. But I didn't think it would lead to this, especially when the game sold fairly well didn't it?
 
M

Man

Member
InFamous Second Son was successful. It sounds weird that Sony would call for layoffs with the major business PS4 is racking in. Probably the heads at the studio itself that felt the team was bloated?
 
B

BigDug13

Member
FStop7 said:
Emulating the film industry.
Click to expand...

Well that's not far off. As we continue to push AAA games to be these huge spectacles that take hundreds and hundreds of people to make, it's almost like green lighting a film and after it's done, everyone looks for another gig.

But the fact that this one is hitting serious Suckerpunch veterans, it's more than the simple drawdown-after-project.
 
L

Loudninja

Member
Man said:
InFamous Second Son was successful. It sounds weird that Sony would call for layoffs with the major business PS4 is racking in. Probably the heads at the studio itself that felt the team was bloated?
Click to expand...
Most of Sony studios suffer layoffs,I think only GG and MM didn't suffer.

I think this is still part of their restructuring.
 
M

Minions

Member
element said:
You all suck for instantly thinking that!

Educated guess from my Facebook and Twitter:
Around 30% to 40% of the staff were laid off.
Majority of these are full time exempt employees (salary positions).
Some have been at Sucker Punch over 10 years.
All areas effected including design, programming, art, marketing, production, and test.

My heart goes out to all those effected.
Click to expand...

Almost double the previous posted estimate? Crazy.
 
P

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
element said:
You all suck for instantly thinking that!

Educated guess from my Facebook and Twitter:
Around 30% to 40% of the staff were laid off.
Majority of these are full time exempt employees (salary positions).
Some have been at Sucker Punch over 10 years.
All areas effected including design, programming, art, marketing, production, and test.

My heart goes out to all those effected.
Click to expand...

Amidst huge console sales, good software sales by this team and all... yet, there was the need to almost halve the studio's head count? It seems a tragic manoeuvre for the studio. I understand Sony is bleeding still, but this can affect the quality's of the studio next projects and this the profits they bring in.
 
element

element

Member
FStop7 said:
Emulating the film industry.
Click to expand...
Film industry is a little different as film is almost 100% independent contract. There really aren't full time jobs on a film company, you are hired for a project and just that. Once it is complete, onto the next thing. Only full time employees are at outside fx firms, but you take on multiple projects at those companies to stay open.

It is really disappointing to hear things like this happen :(
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
element said:
You all suck for instantly thinking that!

Educated guess from my Facebook and Twitter:
Around 30% to 40% of the staff were laid off.
Majority of these are full time exempt employees (salary positions).
Some have been at Sucker Punch over 10 years.
All areas effected including design, programming, art, marketing, production, and test.

My heart goes out to all those effected.
Click to expand...

Oof, that had to have come as a gut punch to those people. Hope they can find jobs sharpish,

Pretty strange that Sony are shedding so many jobs from their studios. Doesn't seem like normal turnover either. Restructuring makes sense to a point, but to remove almost half of a studio workforce....that's not something you see very often.
 
V

VLiberty

Member
I hope everyone land on their feet :/ I've been a great Sucker Punch fan, especially in the PS2 days

Hero of Legend said:
I thought the Sly folks all left years ago. The creator did and formed Loose Cannon, that went bust when Konami didn't pay them for Tornado Outbreak (is that legal?!), he went to Pop Cap, might've left, not sure.
Click to expand...

What? That sucks
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Sucks for those affected. Second Son was fantastic and I'm looking forward to First Light. Hopefully the people laid off and the studio come out of this in good shape.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
I think we need numbers of staff being let go before jumping to conclusions. Sucker Punch were only about 80 staff, weren't they? So if this is 9 or 11 staff then maybe it's just the natural wind-down after a project, but if this is 25 staff then maybe it's more concerning.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Whaaaat?

I'm playing Second Son right this moment. It's a great game, and I've already ordered the DLC.
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
Triggerhappytel said:
I think we need numbers of staff being let go before jumping to conclusions. Sucker Punch were only about 80 staff, weren't they? So if this is 9 or 11 staff then maybe it's just the natural wind-down after a project, but if this is 25 staff then maybe it's more concerning.
Click to expand...

element is claiming it's between 30 to 40 per cent of staff.
 
element

element

Member
Triggerhappytel said:
I think we need numbers of staff being let go before jumping to conclusions. Sucker Punch were only about 80 staff, weren't they? So if this is 9 or 11 staff then maybe it's just the natural wind-down after a project, but if this is 25 staff then maybe it's more concerning.
Click to expand...
Pretty clear it is over 20, probably closer to 30.

Again, heart goes out to those hit. Totally sucks. Silver lining is that 343i and Amazon are hiring a lot, as well as Cryptic and Gameloft just opening offices in the last couple months.
 
N

Nightengale

Member
element said:
Pretty clear it is over 20, probably closer to 30.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's not... overly bad.

I mean, it still sucks badly, but that ballpark seems to be a return to the 80s, instead of a terrible cut that makes SP even worse and smaller than when they started work on SS.
 
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