Civilization Studio Hit By Layoffs

[Aphroditty]

Layoffs are never a good thing and I hope this is not a signal that Firaxis is in financial trouble.

Strictly speaking that's not true. I mean, it is true that layoffs are never good for the people who get laid off--obviously that's not good. But for a company, simply having a shit-ton of employees is not always a good thing.

A game development company, for example, might need a ton of people to get things started up, but then later on in the development process certain positions might become redundant and inefficient. Which may or may not be the case here at Firaxis, but seeing how they are nearing the release of Civ 5 it remains a distinct possibility that they've reached a point where their large workforce was now giving them diminished returns.

EDIT: And obviously this actually happens all the time in the games industry. Usually after a game is got out the door a bunch of folks are laid off, even if only until the next project is lined up.

 

[ZephrC]

I don't think Firaxis can be said to be doing poorly right now, developers small enough that they only make one or two games at a time kinda always loose money before a major release.

That being said, it probably is a sign that they will be in serious trouble if Civ 5 doesn't do well. So everyone buy Civ 5.

 

[Terramax]

Sid Meier was reportedly not among the 20 Firaxis employees to be cut. Sid Meier's Civilization V is set for release in September, exclusively for the PC.

That's a shame. It would've been funny to have seen 'Not Sid Meier's Civilization V' on the box.

OT I'm sorry for all those who are losing their jobs. I hope they'll be re-employed again by Firaxis, or find jobs elsewhere real soon.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Sid Meier was reportedly not among the 20 Firaxis employees to be cut. Sid Meier's Civilization V is set for release in September, exclusively for the PC.

That's a shame. It would've been funny to have seen 'Not Sid Meier's Civilization V' on the box.

OT I'm sorry for all those who are losing their jobs. I hope they'll be re-employed again by Firaxis, or find jobs elsewhere real soon.

Even when it's not Sid Meier's, it's still Sid Meier's. In fact, I recall that "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri" then goes on to say that it was actually Brian Reynolds.

On the other hand, this might just be an indication that the studio is simply overstaffed after completing projects like Civ Rev for multiple platforms, and since they have no other projects like that on the horizon doesn't need as many people as it has.

 

[veloper]

Short term cut at the expense of the long term.

They must've figured civ5 is far enough that it won't suffer much. They'll still expect big revenues.
The problem will be developing the next game.

 

[Terramax]

Even when it's not Sid Meier's, it's still Sid Meier's. In fact, I recall that "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri" then goes on to say that it was actually Brian Reynolds.

Ok, ok dude, it was just a [poor] attempt at humour.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

Well, only stupid people will "rent" Civ5 from Steam, instead of owning the game outright, so I hope Firaxis suffers a real shake up. Civ has been getting worse with each new release after Alpha Centaur, and that company needs to get totally new people on it. Sid has become George Lucas, changign all the wrong things to "improve" or "Fix" his original ideas.

this post comes from Bizarro World, apparently.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Well, only stupid people will "rent" Civ5 from Steam, instead of owning the game outright, so I hope Firaxis suffers a real shake up. Civ has been getting worse with each new release after Alpha Centaur, and that company needs to get totally new people on it. Sid has become George Lucas, changign all the wrong things to "improve" or "Fix" his original ideas.

this post comes from Bizarro World, apparently.

Not entirely. The main Civ games have been sequentially doing wrong things that Alpha Centauri did right. On the other hand, Civ 5 does look like a complete reinvention of the mechanics of Civ, and it really sounds like it's going to solve many of the problems of the game, so I for one will be buying it, from Steam if I have to.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

things i apparently need to clear up:

1- alpha centauri != civ
2- civ4 was all around better than civ 3, which was all around better than civ2, which was all around better than civ 1.
3- steam is awesome, "only stupid ppl" still complain about it...probably because they never tried it. In fact, in an era of console domination it's probably the biggest champion of PC gaming.

 

[Steve Butts]

things i apparently need to clear up:

1- alpha centauri != civ
2- civ4 was all around better than civ 3, which was all around better than civ2, which was all around better than civ 1.
3- steam is awesome, "only stupid ppl" still complain about it...probably because they never tried it. In fact, in an era of console domination it's probably the biggest champion of PC gaming.

What a refreshingly lucid post. I agree with everything.

Truth be told, Firaxis is already at work on something new but I can't get anyone to go on the record about it. Heck, I can't even get anyone there to go off the record.

Still it's a shame people have to lose their jobs this way.

 

[Atmos Duality]

It's always worrying when you hear bad news about a company that deals with a genre of games that is already highly underpopulated. There are already very few turn-based strategies as it is, we cannot afford to lose the few companies that still make them.

Layoffs are never a good thing and I hope this is not a signal that Firaxis is in financial trouble.

I imagine real businesses don't fire people for sport.

The industry has already murdered Space ALL Flight games. Following the Chronological progression, turn-based 4X games are next.

Is gaming ultimately just going to amount to a collection of clone shooters and RPGs with mediocre writing? Because that's the destination the industry seems to be sprinting toward.

 

[Doug]

"Firaxis has realigned its development resources in order to streamline its development process"

What? >.>
No seriously...they fired people to "streamline its development process"...suuure...

Nicer way of saying "we're in the shitter and these fuckers had to go" don't you think?

Or "We caught them all playing CoD 4 and watching YouTube videos all day, and its easier this way than having to fire them outright"

Or "We're cheap and want AAA cash for C grade funding"