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[NeededSleep]

That is way too many people. EA messed up big it looks like.

I feel sorry and hope for a quick turnaround for all those and their families that are affected by this.

 

[CosmicQueso]

I think he should have added "console games".

Ohhhhhhhhhhh... well yeah Console will be down again this year, but will be back to moderate growth within two years, then it'll decline again when that gen gets older, then it'll come back up a bit (or some Console replacement will...)

Yeah that's why the console market is called cyclical. It works in cycles. Ups and downs, ebbs and flows. Layoffs and hiring. The hiring stuff never gets reported in a thread.

 

[Kimawolf]

This fucking sucks. Free to play was doing well! Came in this morning fine and dandy, and now I'm out looking for a job. Fuck.

Wow, crap sorry to hear it went down like that. Hopefully you can find something else before too long.

 

[Samir Sedlar]

Well I hope that Dante's Purgatory is still in the cards for Visceral & EA, I mean come on they made Army of Two Devil's Cartel, I am not sure but Dante's Inferno sold quite well back then right ?! ((anyone has numbers ?!)), even though God of War 3 was coming out the next month.

Also I know this may be unlikely, but I hope Visceral can get back in shape, and redeem themselves doing a true Dead Space game targeting Survival Horror.



I wonder what will happen to Danger Close, you know I like these guys, long ago (1999) they made T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger which was quite an amazing game, loved it as a kid, they made alot of Medal of Honor titles, MoH-2010 was cool, but MoH: WarFighter was so bad, and now that MoH brand is on break, I wonder if EA will sacrifice Danger Close.

 

[Desty]

This absolutely sucks and I am sorry for everyone affected.

However, it feels like EA does this every year to make their quarterly numbers match up. Maybe this time the numbers are bigger but I swear every year they have some big shake up which results in a lot of people being fired.

 

[sflufan]

Well I hope that Dante's Purgatory is still in the cards for Visceral & EA, I mean come on they made Army of Two Devil's Cartel, I am not sure but Dante's Inferno sold quite well back then right ?! ((anyone has numbers ?!)), even though God of War 3 was coming out the next month.

Also I know this may be unlikely, but I hope Visceral can get back in shape, and redeem themselves doing a true Dead Space game targeting Survival Horror.



I wonder what will happen to Danger Close, you know I like these guys, long ago (1999) they made T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger which was quite an amazing game, loved it as a kid, they made alot of Medal of Honor titles, MoH-2010 was cool, but MoH: WarFighter was so bad, and now that MoH brand is on break, I wonder if EA will sacrifice Danger Close.

Visceral Montreal which made Army of Two: Mexibros closed.

Danger Close was effectively disbanded not too long ago with all members that were not laid off or departed being reassigned to other projects and other studios.

 

[aeolist]

I want you to look those employees in the eye and tell them you'd love to see them fired.

i don't want to see anyone fired, specifically

that said

they work for one of the shittiest companies in the business and it's been on a downward spiral for years

they should both want to work somewhere else and expect layoffs

 

[alba]

Best of luck to anyone affected to land on their feet quickly! It really sucks

 

[pvpness]

Sucks about the jobs, but I want EA to die. Shitty company with shitty practices shitting up the industry for far too long.

 

[aeolist]

ok i take it back partially

i specifically want to see whoever has been in charge of bioware design and writing for the past 5 years fired

 

[Pavaloo]

i don't want to see anyone fired, specifically

that said

they work for one of the shittiest companies in the business and it's been on a downward spiral for years

they should both want to work somewhere else and expect layoffs

It's a much different spectrum when you actually work there.

Wow, crap sorry to hear it went down like that. Hopefully you can find something else before too long.

Thanks, it's just weird. Kind of in shock, not knowing how to move forward just yet. Oh well, it was a great experience.

 

[Bizazedo]

AAA gaming, gentlemen.
If EA with all its greed can't survive, there's something wrong (right?) with he whole model.

Honestly, it looks like MMO's are what did the damage, not necessarily AAA games.

 

[Coolwhip]

Is it normal to lay off so many people without a real CEO?

 

[Patryn]

Wow. The pressure on Bioware for Dragon Age 3 to be a MASSIVE hit must be huge.

 

[XPE]

This fucking sucks. Free to play was doing well! Came in this morning fine and dandy, and now I'm out looking for a job. Fuck.

What was th F2P project, just trying to get an idea behind the choice of lay offs?

 

[aeolist]

It's a much different spectrum when you actually work there.

oh i'm sure it's just a job to 99% of them and their individual bosses and coworkers and assignments are probably generally good stuff

but they know who they work for and what kind of policies they are abetting

 

[aeolist]

oh you just got fired

sympathies, hope you find something at a place that isn't run by idiotic self-destructive assholes

 

[Htown]

How many more developers must lose their jobs before we rid ourselves of the scourge of used games?

But seriously, I hope everyone lands on their feet.

 

[jschreier]

The game industry is so brutal. Best of luck to any GAFfers who were affected.

 

[KageMaru]

My heart and best wishes go out to the people affected by this. Hopefully they all land on their feet soon. =(

 

[inm8num2]

I don't like when people lose their jobs.

If there is a real problem at EA, I would guess that the wrong people are being laid off.

 

[Kimawolf]

It's a much different spectrum when you actually work there.

Thanks, it's just weird. Kind of in shock, not knowing how to move forward just yet. Oh well, it was a great experience.

Yeah being laid off like that sucks horrible, I know the feeling. The shock generally wears off after a day or two though.

 

[SteveWinwood]

Terrible.

I hope all those effected get back on their feet as soon as possible.

If there is a real problem at EA, I would guess that the wrong people are being laid off.

You don't say.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Who is this random Jesse Cox guy that is spouting out rumors like he has some inside information. 2,000 is complete nonsense.

 

[Pavaloo]

oh i'm sure it's just a job to 99% of them and their individual bosses and coworkers and assignments are probably generally good stuff

but they know who they work for and what kind of policies they are abetting

Sure, but EA isn't a hivemind right. I worked in a department I had a lot of faith in that I thought EA was handling correctly. I still buy Rockstar games as a consumer even though I've heard horror stories about working conditions. I buy shoes that were probably made in worse conditions, etc.

What was th F2P project, just trying to get an idea behind the choice of lay offs?

I was working on Need For Speed World in Quicklime, which has been out for almost 3 years now. Just recently (like a week ago) had a really big update and it's still bringing in revenue.

oh you just got fired

sympathies, hope you find something at a place that isn't run by idiotic self-destructive assholes

lol cheers, much appreciated.

 

[Vilam]

Hope it doesn't affect DICE because I'm one of the noobs there... I'd be screwed for sure.

On the plus side DICE has been expanding lately, so it wouldn't make any sense to do layoffs now.

In my experience, noobs are some of the safest in layoffs... they make the least money, so it's cost effective to keep them.

 

[patapuf]

It looks like most of their ventures outside of the core AAA business went south/ didn't make the expected returns.

With console retail being somewhat stagnant it'll be interesting to see what EA tries next.

In my experience, noobs are some of the safest in layoffs... they make the least money, so it's cost effective to keep them.

DICE make EA's biggest franchise outside of FIFA as well as the engine that is being used across most of EA's studios. I don't think they'll be hit too hard.

 

[inm8num2]

Terrible.

I hope all those effected get back on their feet as soon as possible.



You don't say.

I do say, because given how much people hate EA I'm guessing some might take pleasure in hearing this news. Not people here necessarily, but elsewhere on the web.

 

[cpp_is_king]

In my experience, noobs are some of the safest in layoffs... they make the least money, so it's cost effective to keep them.

In my experience, how much you make is usually (but not always) irrelevant. Cuts are generally strategic, laying off entire projects / divisions / groups indiscriminately, sometimes keeping around a select few who can provide immediate benefit to another project

 

[gaming_noob]

Sure, but EA isn't a hivemind right. I worked in a department I had a lot of faith in that I thought EA was handling correctly. I still buy Rockstar games as a consumer even though I've heard horror stories about working conditions. I buy shoes that were probably made in worse conditions, etc.

I was working on Need For Speed World in Quicklime, which has been out for almost 3 years now. Just recently (like a week ago) had a really big update and it's still bringing in revenue.


lol cheers, much appreciated.

That sucks man. I'm assuming since you've worked with such a large publisher you shouldn't have a problem finding another job in the industry. Good luck!

Tell us about PS4 and Nextbox please.

 

[sibarraz]

2,000 is huge ... sympathy to all involved.

Is there a way to reverse this gif?

kinda ot, but could somebody explain me the mountain dew joke?

 

[antitrop]

Who is this random Jesse Cox guy that is spouting out rumors like he has some inside information. 2,000 is complete nonsense.

You clearly don't watch TotalBiscuit's podcast.

That's all I know him from.

I still have no idea who he is, though.

 

[Vilam]

This fucking sucks. Free to play was doing well! Came in this morning fine and dandy, and now I'm out looking for a job. Fuck.

Very sorry to hear that man

Getting laid off from THQ was ironically the best thing that ever happened to my career; I hope you'll land on your feet soon (along with any other EA GAF members that may have been affected).

 

[SteveWinwood]

You clearly don't watch TotalBiscuit's podcast.

That's all I know him from.

I still have no idea who he is, though.

Apparently he's a voice actor? I don't know why he would know what he's claiming specifically.

 

[antitrop]

Apparently he's a voice actor? I don't know why he would know what he's claiming specifically.

He usually doesn't have much of value to input to that podcast anyway, I'm not surprised to see him spouting off questionable shit on Twitter.

 

[Shard]

Well, isn't this the turn of events, a sad and unfortunate turn of events.

 

[Vilam]

In my experience, how much you make is usually (but not always) irrelevant. Cuts are generally strategic, laying off entire projects / divisions / groups indiscriminately, sometimes keeping around a select few who can provide immediate benefit to another project

Sure, it depends how wide scale you're talking about. If it's an entire team/department you're screwed regardless, but if it's just trimming a team...

 

[Coolwhip]

Who is this random Jesse Cox guy that is spouting out rumors like he has some inside information. 2,000 is complete nonsense.

A youtuber (video attention whore).

 

[FunkyMunkey]

Hopefully EA rewards their CEO with millions of dollars for this brilliant maneuver! As is how it goes with US capitalism. /s

 

[Aquamarine]

kinda ot, but could somebody explain me the mountain dew joke?

Doritosgate.

Geoff Keighley [Journalist at GameTrailers, Spike TV], meanwhile, is sitting beside a table of snacks. A table of delicious Doritos and refreshing Mountain Dew. He is, as you'll see on Wikipedia, "only one of two journalists, the other being 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace, profiled in the Harvard Business School press book 'Geeks and Geezers' by noted leadership expert Warren Bennis." Geoff Keighley is important. He is a leader in his field. He once said, "There's such a lack of investigative journalism. I wish I had more time to do more, sort of, investigation." And yet there he sits, glassy-eyed, beside a table heaving with sickly Doritos and Mountain Dew.

It's an important image. Study it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=43585156

 

[Goldenroad]

Have they said how permanent or temporary these job cuts might be? I think their release schedule has slowed down to a halt until the next gen consoles are out, and I would expect EA to start hiring for more next gen projects as the new consoles start taking off. Unfortunately we are at the end of a product cycle and as a result the amount of people required in that production cycle has gone down, but will also rise back up as we get further into the next gen console cycle. Best wishes for all those effected.

 

[SteveWinwood]

Hopefully EA rewards their CEO with millions of dollars for this brilliant maneuver! As is how it goes with US capitalism. /s

They don't have one right now iirc.

They're in "transition" for a new one.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Sure, it depends how wide scale you're talking about. If it's an entire team/department you're screwed regardless, but if it's just trimming a team...

Even then, I mean it's not like they take the entire list of artists, producers, engineers, DDs, QA, sort by salary, and then say "who can we pick from the top half of this list?"

It's always strategic, it's just on a different scale. If they have too many DDs and not enough things for them to direct, they probably let go of the DDs who have the lowest impact. If their planning indicates they need X amount of engineering capacity to complete the project on time and they have Y, and Y > X, then they're not going to look at non-engineers for layoffs, and even STILL salary is going to be the last thing they look at, even among engineers. They're just going to sit into a room with the numbers like current project capacity, required global capacity, required capacity per project, and a list of engineers, and they're going to shuffle them around between projects seeing might have the skills to fit into which group and trying different combinations until required capacity and actual capacity match up.

Then they're going to look at all the combinations that work, see who is left out of each one, and fire the people who have the lowest performance, or maybe even that people just don't like the most.

It's never as simple as "senior guys are the most safe" or "junior guys are the most safe". The only people who are definitely safe are the 2-3 most senior engineers on the project.

 

[sflufan]

Have they said how permanent or temporary these job cuts might be? I think their release schedule has slowed down to a halt until the next gen consoles are out, and I would expect EA to start hiring for more next gen projects as the new consoles start taking off. Unfortunately we are at the end of a product cycle and as a result the amount of people required in that production cycle has gone down, but will also rise back up as we get further into the next gen console cycle. Best wishes for all those effected.

I'm fairly certain these are permanent cuts to align with the new strategic direction.

 

[7threst]

Sad thing is Nintendo hasn't laid anybody off, and they will likely end up profitable once they get their head out of their ass and release some software.

What's sad about that? I'm just happy for the people at Nintendo.

 

[diamount]

.

Yeah, them closing down the only studio that makes them a significant amount of money. Seems legit.

 

[Goldenroad]

I'm fairly certain these are permanent cuts to align with the new strategic direction.

I guess what I'm saying is, if that "new strategic direction" takes off, then would they not, as a result, have to grow that workforce again (ie. hire people back on)?

 

[bounchfx]

Ugh, shit. Have a lot of friends that work there.. hope they're ok.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

It's terrible that so many are losing their jobs and I wish them a speedy return to employment. Too bad that instead of the developers losing their jobs it would be the decision makers who put EA in the position it's currently in. Always the corporate folks who make the decisions that are healthier financially that are safe.

 

[sflufan]

I guess what I'm saying is, if that "new strategic direction" takes off, then would they not, as a result, have to grow that workforce again (ie. hire people back on)?

No, not necessarily.