Source: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/191261/More_layoffs_hit_EA.phpGamasutra said:UPDATE: A source familiar with the situation at EA cast doubt on reports that 10 percent of the workforce has been laid off. We still don't have a clear picture of the extent of the layoffs, and don't expect to until possibly EA's earnings call early next month.
The source also said key titles that were being handled by EA Partners -- a publishing branch that handles externally-developed games -- are still on track, namely Insomniac Games' upcoming Fuse and the major title coming from Respawn Entertainment. Mobile-focused Chillingo is also continuing to work with independent developers to publish new titles. The EA Partners publishing label is rumored to have been discontinued.
So no crysis 4
So no crysis 4
EA PR said:...we're not commenting on specific teams or number of employees.
PopCap Vancouver is shut down. Sad.
The bubble has officially burst.
Hoping next-gen brings a game renaissance from the indie scene. There will be lots of talent without big pub/dev homes out there making games.
Playfish: 400M - Facebook games getting shut down.
Popcap: 750M - Closing studios
Mythic:undisclosed - Folded into BioWare for the massive dud TOR
Bioware & Pandemic 775M - Pandemic closed, massive investment on MMO going south
That's over 2 billion in subpar investments.
They were working on that Plants vs. Zombies shooter, right ?
Playfish: 400M - Facebook games getting shut down.
Popcap: 750M - Closing studios
Mythic:undisclosed - Folded into BioWare for the massive dud TOR
Bioware & Pandemic 775M - Pandemic closed, massive investment on MMO going south
That's over 2 billion in subpar investments.
And I really hope fewer successful small studios get bought up by the likes of EA and Activision. I know the temptation for owners to cash out is really strong, but how many great games have never been made because acquisitions? What would things be like if Maxis et al were still independent.
The bubble has officially burst.
Hoping next-gen brings a game renaissance from the indie scene. There will be lots of talent without big pub/dev homes out there making games.
Playfish: 400M - Facebook games getting shut down.
Popcap: 750M - Closing studios
Mythic:undisclosed - Folded into BioWare for the massive dud TOR
Bioware & Pandemic 775M - Pandemic closed, massive investment on MMO going south
That's over 2 billion in subpar investments.
maxis never would have made it on their own, and neither would a lot of studios with great creative talent and poor business leadership
being able to make great games doesn't mean you're good at running a company and i doubt many indies recruit strong executives to run things
So far they haven't been touching those studios (well, on BioWare, the core Edmonton/Montreal ones) since they're part of their AAAA strategy.
Ryan Loe ‏@ryan_loe 17 Apr
More layoffs at BioWare. My friend, Nathan Plewes who worked there 13 years is out. Wow.
Ryan Loe ‏@ryan_loe 17 Apr
@[user] yeah, round one was the temps. Round 2 the project. My guess is round three will be the studio.
They were working on that Plants vs. Zombies shooter, right ?
Nintendo: "Please understand"
Square Enix: "Please be excited"
EA: "Please go"
itshappening.gif[img][/QUOTE]
Is this the worst GIF on the internet?
Hmmmm... are we sure BioWare hasn't been touched?
Was just browsing through the BioWare Social forum's twitter thread and somebody posted this from several days ago.
Loe was let go from BioWare a week or 2 ago I think as he had been a relatively new hire it looks like. But if they're dumping people that have been with BioWare for 13 years? Seems like EA is doing some pretty deep cuts.
Tracey Lien said:Two sources with knowledge of the situation told Polygon that the layoffs, part of EA's extended and ongoing reorganization, now number in the hundreds. Officially, the company most recently listed 9,000 employees worldwide.
While EA's public statement doesn't include the number of people impacted, sources with knowledge of the company tell Polygon that the continuing layoffs are impacting "a lot" of people across nearly every part of the company. Some sections are losing a half dozen people, some are losing dozens, according to our source.
EA employees took to Twitter today to announce that EA studios PopCap Vancouver and Quicklime Studio have shut down. Quicklime employees tweeted that all staff have been laid off as a result of the studio closure.
Is this the worst GIF on the internet?
Hmmmm... are we sure BioWare hasn't been touched?
Was just browsing through the BioWare Social forum's twitter thread and somebody posted this from several days ago.
Loe was let go from BioWare a week or 2 ago I think as he had been a relatively new hire it looks like. But if they're dumping people that have been with BioWare for 13 years? Seems like EA is doing some pretty deep cuts.
I guess some cleaning was needed but this is pretty brutal.
Noooou! Not DICE!
Noooou! Not DICE!
I need my BF4 fix
Good. Hopefully, we'll see the death of EA this generation; this abomination has gone on long enough.
This is welcome to next gen folks.
The industry is headed toward an inevitable crash due to rising costs and lacking creativity.
Aside from that incredible rise in mobile, expanded independent development, the growth of MOBA and other PC centric games, the evolution of Steam into the Steambox, proliferation of new gaming platforms such as the Android based boxes, Apple's potential expansion of the Apple TV into a gaming platform and overall gaming spend increasing yearly despite late cycle declines of the physical market seen the last three years then yes... you are absolutely right.
Aside from that incredible rise in mobile, expanded independent development, the growth of MOBA and other PC centric games, the evolution of Steam into the Steambox, proliferation of new gaming platforms such as the Android based boxes, Apple's potential expansion of the Apple TV into a gaming platform and overall gaming spend increasing yearly despite late cycle declines of the physical market seen the last three years then yes... you are absolutely right.