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[Fox Mulder]

SE should just stick to FF shit so I don't have to give them any interest.

Hope IO devs can land at a better company.

 

[HellofaMouse]

I call it Karma, for the Kane and Lynch fiasco 10 years ago on Gertsmann. Now IO is being downsized. I guess SE couldn't find any buyers, so they're cutting staff left and right

I dont think the devs had anything to do with that

 

[Lagspike_exe]

Sounds like.... someone sent a hitman.

Spoiler

Don't kill me.

Spoiler

Pun intended.

 

[Kthulhu]

I understand the game didn't sell as SE wanted. Financially, I understand it was a moderate success but sadly, that means nothing for these publishers.

What Square Enix doesn't understand is that Hitman isn't a franchise that moves big numbers like Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts.

Sadly, publishers only want assured successes these days. Games ain't getting cheaper, so they're scared to take risks. I imagine stuff like this is going to keep happening with beloved franchises.

 

[Makai]

http://www.ioi.dk/jobs/

 

[Kaako]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/012/073/7686178464_fdc8ea66c7.jpg

This industry is fucked man.
I hope everyone that got laid off land on their feet soon. Godspeed.

 

[vpance]

The episodic model ultimately didn't work and I believe the completion percentages went way down with each new episode (PS4). Unfortunate for those involved but not unexpected.

Video games are becoming a more cutthroat business with each passing year. I'd argue the company obituaries in 2018 may be even worse.

Less interest with each episode makes sense. People got sidetracked with new games, and more and more never came back for new episodes. I was fairly dedicated until the last one. Only ran through it once.

To sell games in big numbers you really need that initial hype-phase ramp up. Hitman had none of that. Episodic works way better for Telltale and the like because it's focused on the story, and cheaper too I guess.

 

[Brazil]

I call it Karma, for the Kane and Lynch fiasco 10 years ago on Gertsmann. Now IO is being downsized. I guess SE couldn't find any buyers, so they're cutting staff left and right

Grow up.

 

[Kill3r7]

They are clearly in the upper echelon of developers in the industry. They proved that with Hitman 2016 which is one of the best comeback stories in gaming history. Ok, so they think Hitman is not going to sell what they want. Fair enough. Then why sell such a high calibre studio away? Fucking keep them working on something else. Good, seasoned talent doesn't grow on trees.

Good seasoned talent costs a lot of money and overhead. This is arguably one of the main reasons why we have not heard anything yet on other publishers buying them. IO is also a relatively large studio for not making big blockbuster AAA games.

 

[AngryMoth]

Man, fuck SE for this, Hitman was one of the absolute best games of last year

 

[Yukinari]

The way Hitman was handled and how Absolution was not the game people were looking for im not surprised this happened to them. Square deserves blame too but Hitman couldnt catch a break.

 

[AdropOFvenom]

Horrible.... they finally got the Hitman format down, and stuff happens beyond their control.

One of the console makers would be smart to add them to their arsenal before it's too late.

 

[Sami+]

Wasn't the episodic structure of the game the cause for a lot of controversy? I've been playing it a lot lately and absolutely love it, but I guess I can see why it wasn't very successful if people had been pissed at that.

 

[Cleve]

I wonder how SE are still in business sometimes. They really make some insane decisions with management of their brands.

I'm glad to see there's other studios looking to hire some of the displaced staff.

SE should just stick to FF shit so I don't have to give them any interest.

Hope IO devs can land at a better company.

I'd argue they don't really know how to manage FF responsibly either, between XV's absurd dev time and budget, and XIV's initial release and budget they just piss money away on things. They righted the boat with XIV eventually, but not before wasting enormous amounts of money.

 

[Xiao Hu]

Welp, with every butchered game and business decision SE's acquisition of Eidos seems to be a bad joke...

 

[The Technomancer]

Like I'm not going to not say Hitman underperformed

But the amount of bullshit SE puts up with from their Japanese studios compared to their recent attitudes towards their western ones is infuriating

 

[Sotha_Sil]

Zenimax should buy them out so they can continue their run of "best games that no one played."

Io would make some great games under Zenimax, but if they got the same shit marketing Arkane's last two games did, their sales probably wouldn't improve much.

What a great lineup that would be: Fallout, TES, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Doom, Prey, Quake, Evil Within, and Hitman. Plus the new BGS IPs.

 

[Yopis]

Makes me sad. Really great job they did. Wish publisher was all in on these guys.

 

[faridmon]

Really sad that one of my favourite studios are getting treated like shit especially now that they put one of the best games this generation.

Really sad stuff, hope the people affected land on their feet and keep us updated.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

The way Hitman was handled and how Absolution was not the game people were looking for im not surprised this happened to them. Square deserves blame too but Hitman couldnt catch a break.

Absolution sold a lot more than Hitman 2016 has, in spite of its reception amongst series veterans. So in that sense it was more successful financially.

 

[sflufan]

Really wonder what will happen to the Hitman IP though. IO probably won't get to keep it.

I really don't see how SE can sell the studio without the Hitman IP going along with it.

 

[nckillthegrimace]

Like I'm not going to not say Hitman underperformed

But the amount of bullshit SE puts up with from their Japanese studios compared to their recent attitudes towards their western ones is infuriating

They key difference is those Japanese games sell very well. Like Nier: Automata of all things broke a million copies sold. How did Hitman and Deus Ex do, and how much did they cost to make relative to Nier? I doubt it's a favorable comparison.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I call it Karma, for the Kane and Lynch fiasco 10 years ago on Gertsmann. Now IO is being downsized. I guess SE couldn't find any buyers, so they're cutting staff left and right

Lol, giantbomb alone is worth it and the years of great stuff they never would have done at GameSpot.

It was also marketing people at eidos that led to all that, not the actual devs of the game. But carry on with a decade of anger I guess.

 

[The Technomancer]

We're witnessing a shift in the industry. Even as "high budget indies" begin to thrive and fill in the old mid tier game space "low budget AAAs" like Dishonored 2 and Hitman are getting squeezed out. At the big publishers there's no room for stuff that isn't GTA, Skyrim, Ubisoft coop or ...I guess Final Fantasy?

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Goddamn you SQE for all eternity.

 

[Prurient]

I call it Karma, for the Kane and Lynch fiasco 10 years ago on Gertsmann. Now IO is being downsized. I guess SE couldn't find any buyers, so they're cutting staff left and right

You know that even Jeff himself has said that was nothing to do with the game developers and everything to do with marketing, a totally separate entity, right?

 

[Kthulhu]

They key difference is those Japanese games sell very well. Like Nier: Automata of all things broke a million copies sold. How did Hitman and Deus Ex do, and how much did they cost to make relative to Nier? I doubt it's a favorable comparison.

Willing to bet that Nier was a lot cheaper. Nier also had the advantage of being made by SE's Japanese division. Also apparently one of the higher ups at SE Japan loves Yoko Taro's games.

 

[TemplaerDude]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

Keep your chin up, I hope all your friends and co workers affected by this are all able to find new work. I've been an IOI fan since day 1, you've got at least one supporter in me!!

 

[Megawarrior]

Hopefully season 2 will come out all at once this time.

 

[Screaming Meat]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

Dude...

So sorry 😐

 

[Tom Nook]

Sad.

That logo...

 

[Murkas]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

Don't know if this means much with that you guys are going through but Hitman 2016 was my favourite game of the year and I'm still always playing it.

 

[oneils]

I thought CBSi bought GB and Gamespot, so they are both under the same umbrella. I don't believe Gamespot has any ownership over GB, they're distinct brands.

That Sounds right. I think though they are under gamespot management. Edit: I honestly don't know anymore. Me dumb.

 

[Tecnniqe]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

 

[thesaucetastic]

Square Enix has such shit management. How do you hemorrhage so much money so pointlessly?

 

[tearsintherain]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

your game was my personal 2016 GOTY, you can absolutely tell the dev team poured so much love into the game. Hope you land in an even better and greater job, you deserve it!

 

[soultron]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

Check your PMs.

 

[mreddie]

It begins...

 

[Gator86]

I guess I can keep my tag here but man

You'll find a spot with a dev under a much better publisher, I'm sure. Hitman is a stellar game and a clear demonstration of the talent and creativity of the team.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Square really is the worst.

 

[Alexander DeLarge]

Wasn't IO creating tech that was being used throughout other Square Enix' titles?

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Square Enix has such shit management. How do you hemorrhage so much money so pointlessly?

Square-Enix posted record profits for the past fiscal year though. Without knowing the internal data and reasoning behind their decision to cut IO loose, it's difficult to know exactly why they felt that the best course of action.

 

[xxracerxx]

This is such a blow to the amazing team and game that they created.

 

[Stigfinnare]

Thanks for the support guys and just so you know, a lot of us are reading these threads so it's very appreciated. I still have my job but lots of my friends and colleagues don't. We are all drinking beers right now, trying to cope. This team. Out of my 14 years as a developer... It's the best. Just amazing talent.

 

[Off-Kilter]

This is their reward for making one of the best games of the generation.

Fucking sucks man.

 

[Ducktail]

Square really is the worst.

Most major corporations are evil like that. People are completely disposable.

 

[RdN]

Shit.

Best luck for those affected.

 

[Interfectum]

Thanks for the support guys and just so you know, a lot of us are reading these threads so it's very appreciated. I still have my job but lots of my friends and colleagues don't. We are all drinking beers right now, trying to cope. This team. Out my 14 years as a developer... It's the best. Just amazing talent.

Other game developers know what talent it took to make an amazing game like Hitman so I have no doubt a lot of your friends will be hired very quickly.

Ya'll get nice and drunk, you deserve it for making 2016's GOTY.

 

[family_guy]

Think they'll patch in the the elusive targets permanently as a farewell?

 

[unknownhero]

well, hitman was the only thing that i was interested in from SE. I hate the new tomb raider direction and I rarely buy any FF games. I hope everyone effected find new jobs fast.