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SOE closes 3 studios, lays off 1/3 of workforce?
Esquire1980
Member UncommonPosts: 568
Sony’s MMO Makers Close Three Studios, Lay Off One-Third of Workforce
Owen Good — Sony's MMO Makers Close Three Studios, Lay Off One-Third of WorkforceSony Online Entertainment, makers of D.C. Universe Online and Free Realms, closed three studios and will lay off nearly a third of its workforce, Kotaku has learned.
Word began spreading when George Broussard, best known as the co-creator of Duke Nukem Forever, tweeted earlier this evening that SOE was seeing layoffs and "studio closure is possible." Kotaku has confirmed through a source familiar with the matter that the closures affect SOE's studios in Seattle, Tucson, Ariz. and Denver. Half of the workforce at SOE offices in Austin, Texas were pink slipped along with a sizeable portion of San Diego. In sum, it accounts for nearly one-third of SOE's manpower before today.
Kotaku has reached out to Sony Online Entertainment for official comment. Any statement will be updated here.
http://kotaku.com/#!5787461/sonys-mmo-makers-close-three-studios-lay-off-one+third-of-workforce
Looks like 1/2 of SOE Austin (devs) and the complete studio for TCG (The Card Game) is now going.
UPDATE;
Citizens of the Galaxies,
We wanted to bring this information to you here, rather than having you read about it elsewhere. The SWG player community is one of our most passionate and engaged audiences. Supportive and always offering constructive feedback, players and Senators have helped guide and improve this game over seven full years. Star Wars: Galaxies will continue to be supported this year, and you can look forward to a Producer’s Letter from Teesquared early next week with more information about what lies ahead for the Galaxies in 2011.
~Linda “Brasse” Carlson
Director, Global Community Relations
Following is the official notice that you may see on other sites:
As part of a strategic decision to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce, SOE announced today that it will eliminate 205 positions and close its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios. As part of this restructuring, SOE is discontinuing production of The Agency so it can focus development resources on delivering two new MMOs based on its renowned PlanetSide and EverQuest properties, while also maintaining its current portfolio of online games. All possible steps are being taken to ensure team members affected by the transition are treated with appropriate concern.
This strategic decision will have no impact on SOE’s current portfolio of live games; additionally SOE will transition development efforts for the Denver and Tucson studios’ suite of products to its San Diego headquarters. This strategic alignment of development resources better positions SOE to remain a global leader in online gaming and deliver on its promise of creating entertaining games for players of all ages, and servicing the 20 million players that visited SOE servers in just the past year.
The SWG community has already asked the question over the specific statement of "this year" with no answer as yet.
Comments
There are already 3 or 4 different threads on this here at MMORPG.com
True. But this thread is specifically for the Smed-haters to come out and brag about how they made it happen
Anyone can claim credit I guess, but it all goes to SOE's leadership...and that hasn't changed...only the poor folk who worked for them. Had they simply switched out a few (10-20) TOP people at SOE, this may not have ever had to have happened.
I feel bad for their employees. But no worse than I do for anyone unemployed in this economy. Good luck to them.
One point of interest is that the DCU, EQ, and EQ2 OBoard announcements all mention continued support and development. SWG's announcement only mentions continued support.
No Smedley made it happen, with his choice of following the WoW crowd.
I predicted that DCU and the Agency would flop way before release, not because I hate Smedley but because I follow the MMORPG industry with passion and I understand what works and what doesn't (like an awful lot of other people, none of which work at SoE apparently).
Where SoE passion is gone for MMORPGs?
I don't know if it's an April fool or not but DCU flopped, and The Agency will flop if it ever get released (but I still have hope for Everquest Next)
SoE needs a new CEO with passion and vision, Smedley has never been up for the job.
Im going to laugh at all of you the moment they say APRIL FOOLS!
feh on your ill informed conjectures.
True
But I guess that Sony shareholders are not laughing so much at all the money lost with DCU, and that's not an April fool (and they will lose even more with The Agency if it goes ahead)
Cuz that would be kinda funny right? F'king with 200 employees lives as a joke?!
It was the end of Q1...and their results were NO joke.
Continued support "this year".
The press release said they already canned the agency. Wow and no no aprill fools this thing is bad all around
Now Zat has been "moved" to another game also. Another SWG community manager bites the dust.
She needed to be "moved". Talk about lazy.
Well you gotta hand it to them no one else woulda kept it on life support for what? 2007-2011
I wonder what that announcements going to sound like later this week, thank you for you long blah blah...........
A company that is publically traded will never announce layoffs or closings unless they are fact.
What you're suggesting would land them in both criminal and civil court.
Huh! I missed that. Good find Obee!
Lately, SOE seem to be focusing all their energy on the PS3 platform and not putting as much effort into their PC titles. This is pretty much what almost every major gaming company has been doing lately, full on console releases with weak PC releases.
true, DCUO's updates for the pc revolved around the PS3 updates & pc versions were held up because of problems with PS3 network.
It's obvious why...console game sales are growing and, like always, Smed is more interested in the gamers he DOESN'T have than the ones he does. First WoW, now the PS3, tomorrow something else. His goal is 100million Free Realms players (read "accounts"). How will he reach that on PC alone?
I've been reading through that "SWG is NOT shutting down" thread, so many misleading posts in there I wonder how many of them has actually been around long enough to know SWG and SOE's history. One said that SWG needs to stay alive to be part of the Station Pass, well the guy probably doesn't know that the Matrix Online was also part of the Station Pass and look what happened to that. If Pirates of the Burning Sea hadn't gone F2P, it probably would've been next in line on shutting down, SWG very well does seem to be next and I know lots of current players don't like the idea of that, if it's F2P it might be worth it though the progress of a certain other SWG game is moving at an amazing rate and has tons playing.
Again, I don't see LEC wanting to run two Star Wars online games at once.
Smed works for the parent corporate division that does all the PS3 stuff, SMCE or whatever it is. SOE has no choice to do console stuff, because that is who they report to.
As I think about it, it is possible that Smed has been "given a window", in the tradition of large Japanese conglomerates, where an executuive screws up so badly or for so long, he is put in a position with no authority at all and all he gets to do is look out the window all day. The only reason he is not fired, is that it would make the company look bad, as it is shameful to have a top executive be acknoledged as a POS, because the company hired him and put him in that position, and it reflects badly on their judgement. To the shareholders and to the public. The corporate reorg they were subjected to a couple years back may have done that very thing.
In the end, Smed, like SOE, is no longer relevant in the gaming circles, except as a cautionary tale and the example to not follow.
I thought the recession was over.. guess it goes to show it is a depression. borders just went down.
I also feel for their employees, the leadership is the problem, but ain't that the same worldwide? Tyrants everywhere & the work class suffer.
Years I have waited for Smed's comeuppance (ever since the EQ PoP debacle in fact). Finally his long term misdirection of SOE has hit them where it hurts - shareholders' pockets. The MMO industry would be so much better off without Smed.
I know they keep games on life support - but only after they have destroyed them first (SWG/Vanguard to name a couple).
... and the Matrix online, until they had to shut it down since tumbleweed and chirping crickets occupied the game more than players did.
I am EQ2 player, and think its best mmo on the market. With that said I can tell you 1/3 of SOE deserves to be laid off. Most of the support is rude, and not helpful which also says something about the managment. They really need to take a hard look at how they treat the players over at SOE. I mean I hate to say this, but Blizzard treats the players of their game far better then SOE does even though I think EQ2 is a better game then WoW.