[V_Ben]

From the desk of George Broussard;

Word that Sony Online Entertainment Seattle is having layoffs and that studio closure is possible. http://bit.ly/eSxtvq

Sad news, sorry to hear about this :/ Wonder what this means for The Agency.

[yencid]

so no agency? FUCK!

sad news indeed.

[Majine]

Awaits The Agency cancel.

[TheOddOne]

Closure? Damn if true, good luck to those effected.

[Le-mo]

Says they're hiring on their web page.

[V_Ben]

Says they're hiring on their web page.

George Broussard never lies.

[spats]

Very sad news. Good luck to the ex SOE Seattle people.

[yencid]

Says they're hiring on their web page.

do news like this normally reflect immediately on their site?

[TheOddOne]

Awaits The Agency cancel.

Former employee Linkedin notes that The Agency has been in development since 2006.

[Corto]

Good luck for those affected...

[Kifimbo]

Sad for the employees, but it looked like a smart decision. You can't work for years on one project and not deliver.

[Onion_Relish]

could it also mean that it is coming to completion and they are getting rid of excess staff?

[spats]

George just tweeted this:

To be more clear, the layoffs may be SOE wide and not just limited to Seattle. So, Austin, San Diego, etc...

http://twitter.com/#!/georgeb3dr/sta...08271485542400

[V_Ben]

George just tweeted this: http://twitter.com/#!/georgeb3dr/sta...08271485542400

Ah, right. Can a mod edit? :)

[[Nintex]]

George Broussard never lies.

Ah yes for whatever reason, when people get fired in the gaming industry they inform George Broussard and I'm not even joking.

[V_Ben]

Ah yes for whatever reason, when people get fired in the gaming industry they inform George Broussard and I'm not even joking.

It's bizarre. He's taken on a new form as somewhat of a tipster.

[Fezan]

These are dark time for industry

[TheOddOne]

Ah yes for whatever reason, when people get fired in the gaming industry they inform George Broussard and I'm not even joking.

He knows a lot of people and they speak fondly of him. Its pretty great that he has so many contacts in the gaming industry.

[bluemax]

I remember interviewing with them back in 2008 right after I landed my first job in the industry. Hard to believe they *STILL* haven't released the game.

[element]

Doesn't shock me at all.

Hell I just posted about this a day or so ago.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...7&postcount=41

[V_Ben]

Doesn't shock me at all. Hell I just posted about this a day or so ago. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...7&postcount=41

Oh yeah, I had forgotten you mentioned that.

[Grisby]

For a time I was really looking forward to the Agency. If they ever released it I'd still check it out.

Sad for the people though. Hope they land on their feet.

[Dr Zhivago]

It's bizarre. He's taken on a new form as somewhat of a tipster.

He used to run an industry gossip site years ago.

[FINALBOSS]

Bye Bye Agency :(

Wasn't interested in it all that much...but sad to see a PS3 exclusive go byebye.

[eternaLightness]

Sucks for those affected. I was really interested in Agency when I first saw footage of it. Sucks we may never get it.

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Closure? Damn. The Agency even looked reasonably interesting.

[Kafel]

Good luck to those involved.

The Agency doesn't seem to be a big loss.

[element]

He used to run an industry gossip site years ago.

not really a gossip site. George runs GI which is still going strong. Super insider, or so I hear.

http://www.planetcrap.com/topics/290/

[V_Ben]

not really a gossip site. George runs GI which is still going strong. Super insider, or so I hear. http://www.planetcrap.com/topics/290/

Whoa, that's actually really damn cool.

[Galvanise_]

Damn. I hope the affected people get back on their feet quickly.

I also hope The Agency is fine. It was scheduled for a late 2011 release.

[Morn]

Agency canned. To be replaced with PlanetSide 2. And there was much rejoicing.

[ElectricBlue187]

Former employee Linkedin notes that The Agency has been in development since 2006.

Holy shit. That's a really long time to keep a project going on the wrong track. Poor management

[Solid_Rain]

I'm not certain but wasn't there a similar story a few months back about this, Sony basically let a few people go and some of the senior members of the studio were upset and there wasn't an update to the story: until now I guess. Overall disappointing though because The Agency looked promising.

[ConradCervantes]

Damn. What I've heard about The Agency sounded really cool. Hope this isn't the end. A ton of work for nothing.

[TheOddOne]

Holy shit. That's a really long time to keep a project going on the wrong track. Poor management

Seems UE engine might have contributed to it being so long in development.

[Gattsu25]

Seems UE engine might have contributed to it being so long in development.

Silicon Knights vindicated, again.

[Morn]

SOE Seattle, SOE Denver (TCG studio), and SOE Tucson (PoxNora studio) closed.

Half of SOE Austin (DCUO, SWG) laid off.

Large number of SOE San Diego laid off.

Total of 1/3rd of the company.

[BrokenSymmetry]

SOE Seattle, SOE Denver (TCG studio), and SOE Tucson (PoxNora studio) closed. Half of SOE Austin (DCUO, SWG) laid off. Large number of SOE San Diego laid off. Total of 1/3rd of the company.

So which are the SOE games that still have active development?

[shagg_187]

So which are the SOE games that still have active development?

Free Realm... lol

[Suzzopher]

Half of Austin? Fuck! I thought DCU was performing well?

[Galvanise_]

Fucking hell, that is a lot of layoffs.

[Morn]

So which are the SOE games that still have active development?

EQ, EQ2, SWG, DCUO, FreeRealms, EQ Next, and PlanetSide 2.

The SOE Austin layoffs are most likely the standard post-launch MMO downsizing that happens after every launch. The Live Team doesn't need to be nearly as large as when the game was in development, so most get axxed about a month or two after the game ships.

[Morn]

Half of Austin? Fuck! I thought DCU was performing well?

It is. But they don't need 500 people to make monthly patches.

[Galvanise_]

So The Agency is probably 99% cancelled then.

Jeez. A third of the company. Shit must be going down behind the scenes.

[Morn]

So The Agency is probably 99% cancelled then. Jeez. A third of the company. Shit must be going down behind the scenes.

Digital TCGs are extremely niche (SOE Denver), PoxNora was never popular (SOE Tuscon), and The Angecy was in development hell for about six years. Even for a MMO that's a bit extreme and when the studio heads gave up on it and left, the writing was on the wall.

I don't think The Angecy should come out. SOE should cut their losses and focus on getting both PlanetSide and EQ Next in beta.

[NemesisPrime]

Half of Austin? Fuck! I thought DCU was performing well?

Not really.... plenty of people left after the first month and subs started.

Classic MMO problem of course.

[TheOddOne]

1/3 of the company? Wow.

[perfectnight]

EQ, EQ2, SWG, DCUO, FreeRealms, EQ Next, and PlanetSide 2. The SOE Austin layoffs are most likely the standard post-launch MMO downsizing that happens after every launch. The Live Team doesn't need to be nearly as large as when the game was in development, so most get axxed about a month or two after the game ships.

Phew. Was worried there for a minute. I want to see how these two games turn sout.

[darkwing]

funny, always thought the Agency would come before DCUO

[Galvanise_]

SOE (and subsequently SCEA) need to get their shit in order.