Eidos Montreal Suffers Post-Thief Layoffs

[Andy Chalk]

Eidos Montreal Suffers Post-Thief Layoffs

Square Enix has confirmed that Thief studio Eidos Montreal has been hit with layoffs.

Eidos Montreal has cut 27 employees from its roster, less than two weeks after the launch of Thief, the reboot of the famed stealth franchise. Prior to the layoffs, according to its Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidos_Montreal] entry, the studio had a headcount of roughly 500.

"Yes it is true we've let 27 people go today, unfortunately it's something that every major studio has to do sometimes in order to ensure you have the right set up for current and future projects," parent company Square Enix said in a statement. "It's never a nice thing to do but we are genuinely trying to offer as much support as much as we can. We're trying to re-locate as many people as possible into other roles here or at our other studios and we've been in touch [with] several studios in Montreal to arrange a career day for those affected by this. We're very thankful for all their hard work and we sincerely wish them well."

The 2011 release Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a hit for the studio but most reviewers haven't been terribly enthusiastic about Thief. The Escapist's Justin Clouse scored it a 3/5, describing it as "a mess [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/11055-Thief-Review-The-Meh-Project]" and saying, "If you were hoping for a worthy successor to the Thief franchise, this isn't it."



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[Karavision]

Critical Miss should re-run the one with Erin getting punched, in solidarity.

 

[Compatriot Block]

Best wishes to those affected. Regardless of what you thought of the game, I'd bet that most of these people were not responsible for its bad decisions.

 

[Sethzard]

While playing a game, it's not a good sign when I start to think "I wish I was playing [insert other game]" while playing Thief, that game was dishonoued.
That said, my sympathies to those who were laid off.

 

[Shocksplicer]

Nothing to do with Thief, this happens to every developer every time they finish a game.

 

[F'Angus]

This sucks. I still intend on picking up thief though. Looks like there won't be a sequel coming though.

 

[deth2munkies]

See, people report layoffs but not hirings. It's very likely that the majority (if not all, or even possibly more) were hired during the Thief build, then were redundant once their job was done. That actually happens very, very frequently in the industry, which is why you see a lot of people bouncing from studio to studio.

 

[Absolutionis]

It's disappointing when Magical-Steampunk-Brute Dishonored is a more enjoyable stealth game than Thief.

It's unfortunate that the people that get laid off probably had little to do in the decision-making that led to the shortcomings of Thief: Invisible War.

 

[Aggieknight]

My thoughts go out to all the people impacted. Regardless of the quality of the game, this is a tough part of the video game industry.

This sucks. I still intend on picking up thief though. Looks like there won't be a sequel coming though.

Seriously, dude, I'd pass on the game or wait till its $20.

If you want a worthy successor to the Thief series, go play Dishonored (or replay). The Escapist correctly identified this as a mess. Poor control choices (literally a brick on the ground can stop you from running, and only some walls you can climb and some gaps you can jump over), horrible loading screens, irritating over world that may take four sets of loading screens to get to the next zone, low replayability and very linear.

 

[CriticalMiss]

See, people report layoffs but not hirings. It's very likely that the majority (if not all, or even possibly more) were hired during the Thief build, then were redundant once their job was done. That actually happens very, very frequently in the industry, which is why you see a lot of people bouncing from studio to studio.

Aren't those people normally contracted though? Maybe they include not renewing contracts with layoffs though.

 

[F'Angus]

This sucks. I still intend on picking up thief though. Looks like there won't be a sequel coming though.

Seriously, dude, I'd pass on the game or wait till its $20.

Yeah I'm gonna wait for a price drop. It's a shame it's so restricted. I remember being able to climb most places in the old Thief games.

 

[VoidWanderer]

My thoughts go out to all the people impacted. Regardless of the quality of the game, this is a tough part of the video game industry.

This sucks. I still intend on picking up thief though. Looks like there won't be a sequel coming though.

Seriously, dude, I'd pass on the game or wait till its $20.

If you want a worthy successor to the Thief series, go play Dishonored (or replay). The Escapist correctly identified this as a mess. Poor control choices (literally a brick on the ground can stop you from running, and only some walls you can climb and some gaps you can jump over), horrible loading screens, irritating over world that may take four sets of loading screens to get to the next zone, low replayability and very linear.

Having played and finishing all bar one side quest (including its 'bonus') I'd wait for it to hit sale, or rent the damn thing if you are going to play it on console.

I enjoyed Thief but its a weird reboot with aftertastes of sequelitis which doesn't mesh well...

It was fun, but honestly, too many upgrades are combat oriented...

Sucks for the 27 people who got booted, though.

 

[DEAD34345]

Nothing to do with Thief, this happens to every developer every time they finish a game.

Not every developer.

You really have to wonder if something isn't tremendously wrong with a business model that involves firing large chunks of employees after each release, the fact that it's pretty much the norm in the games industry is horrifying. Maybe they need some sort of union.

 

[Strazdas]

No wonder, considering the game was bad and people who do bad job shouldnt be rewarded. Now of course whether its the right people that get laid off is another question entirely.

The Escapist's Justin Clouse scored it a 3/5, describing it as "a mess [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/11055-Thief-Review-The-Meh-Project]" and saying, "If you were hoping for a worthy successor to the Thief franchise, this isn't it."

Is this taken out of context? because 3/5 is a pretty good score on escapists scale and certainly not for something that is "a mess"...

 

[Charles Phipps]

I feel horrible for all of the people who lost their jobs. I also want to see another Thief game from them.

Just...a better one.