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www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/mur...ffers-layoffs?abthid=533c7647375d55e819000034

14 employees have been let go from Murdered: Soul Suspect developer Airtight Games this week, the developer has confirmed to IGN.

"We regret to confirm that we have laid off 14 staff members yesterday afternoon as part of a necessary restructuring," Airtight's Jim Deal told IGN. "This restructuring is part of the normal ebb and flow of game production. Existing projects are on schedule and Airtight Games is actively seeking partners for exciting upcoming projects."

A Square Enix representative added, “Airtight Games is a valued partner of Square Enix and we hope staff affected find jobs soon. We have been assured Murdered: Soul Suspect’s timeline to launch is unaffected and the core team is continuing to work towards shipping in June.”

Airtight also developed Soul Fjord, Quantum Conundrum, and Dark Void. Portal co-creator Kim Swift recently departed Airtight to work with Amazon Games Studios.

 

[BY2K]

Yeah, those are nothing. There's always a few people who leave after a project.

 

[jaundicejuice]

Contractor's contract's ending isn't news, it's how virtually every studio operates. When production hits a certain milestone on a facet of a project, say artlock has been achieved, the work force is ramped down.

 

[element]

Yeah, those are nothing. There's always a few people who leave after a project.

Ummmm, the entire company wasn't much more than that. Word on the street here in Seattle is that they have a skeleton crew if they don't pass certification.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Wonder if some of them will end up at Amazon

 

[viveks86]

Another day, another layoff

Looks like no layoff can happen in the industry without IGN getting wind of it first!

 

[Saint Gregory]

I still don't quite get why it's normal to lay off people after a game wraps up. Will you not need those people to work on the next game?

 

[StuBurns]

I still don't quite get why it's normal to lay off people after a game wraps up. Will you not need those people to work on the next game?

Not really, you don't need full teams for the early parts of production, that's why it's wise to have multiple projects so you can rotate the heavy lifting as one wraps and the other ramps.

 

[Nirolak]

Not really, you don't need full teams for the early parts of production, that's why it's wise to have multiple projects so you can rotate the heavy lifting as one wraps and the other ramps.

Yeah these days almost every studio is structured this way.

When they have to do layoffs it's almost always because they couldn't find work or a potential project got canceled, but that doesn't sound very good to say in a press statement.

 

[Sho Nuff]

Yeah, those are nothing. There's always a few people who leave after a project.

Uhhhm.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Yeah these days almost every studio is structured this way.

When they have to do layoffs it's almost always because they couldn't find work or a potential project got canceled, but that doesn't sound very good to say in a press statement.

I don't really get why it's layoffs then. Wouldn't the studio expect this to happen going in? Wouldn't any seasoned developer? Why wouldn't the contract just specify that the work ends once the game is at point E of production and your talents are no longer required?

Are devs instead led to believe they'd have offers of more work once the initial work is completed?

 

[dreamfall]

I'm really rooting for this game. Every little bit I see really has left me intrigued.

I hope those who lost jobs land on their feet quickly. And I hope the game is awesome.

 

[DarthPrince]

I'm really rooting for this game. Every little bit I see really has left me intrigued.

I hope those who lost jobs land on their feet quickly. And I hope the game is awesome.

Yeah i'm in the same boat. Best of luck to those looking for jobs.

 

[astrogamer]

I guess the rest of staff might have some breathing room.

Spoiler

I know this is a bad joke

Hope the game does well

 

[Saint Gregory]

Not really, you don't need full teams for the early parts of production, that's why it's wise to have multiple projects so you can rotate the heavy lifting as one wraps and the other ramps.

It just seems so strange to me because then you have to go through the expense of hiring and training new developers for your next project but Nirolak's explanation kind of clears it up.

 

[Nirolak]

I don't really get why it's layoffs then. Wouldn't the studio expect this to happen going in? Wouldn't any seasoned developer? Why wouldn't the contract just specify that the work ends once the game is at point E of production and your talents are no longer required?

Are devs instead led to believe they'd have offers of more work once the initial work is completed?

No I'm saying they wouldn't have layoffs if they successfully lined up projects.

Something went wrong which is why they had layoffs.

Only contractors are expected to leave at the end of a project.

 

[Whompa]

I imagine it was a wave of contract workers? Not sure how many projects that studio is working on, but 14 is not a lot of people...if it was contract, then the studio is probably pretty small.

Best of luck, either way, to those who are now in the business of looking for more business.

 

[element]

When they have to do layoffs it's almost always because they couldn't find work or a potential project got canceled, but that doesn't sound very good to say in a press statement.

This is probably what happened.

I don't really get why it's layoffs then. Wouldn't the studio expect this to happen going in? Wouldn't any seasoned developer? Why wouldn't the contract just specify that the work ends once the game is at point E of production and your talents are no longer required?

Are devs instead led to believe they'd have offers of more work once the initial work is completed?

First, employees don't have 'contracts', they are employees. It is the responsibility of the company leadership to line up the next game. Typically biz dev is at a need to know level. Also the company is always going to attempt to display a stronger future for the studio to their employees. Do you think a studio would be able to retain talent if they told their employees "We have been trying to get something signed, but nothing has happened..."?

I imagine it was a wave of contract workers? Not sure how many projects that studio is working on, but 14 is not a lot of people...

Not sure how to make it more clear. These weren't contractors. They had no projects lined up, so no future signed business after Murdered is completed. 14 might sound small if you compare it to UbiSoft, but for an independent developer 14 might be 70% of their entire staff.


These type of threads always upset me as posters trivialize the contributions of those who have been laid off. "Oh doesn't this always happen?" or "Probably a bunch of contractors. No big deal."