Man, I'm never getting a full time job at this rate. I have plenty of gamedev stuff outside of work so I'm not worried about getting back in the industry eventually. But tech itself isn't exactly...
Man, I'm never getting a full time job at this rate. I have plenty of gamedev stuff outside of work so I'm not worried about getting back in the industry eventually. But tech itself isn't exactly hot either.
Even attempts to find some temp work in my area to float on by as I interview shows that minimum wage work has slowed down. How are people even getting jobs these days?
I'd normally try to veer back on topic here but I'm not sure I have much new to say. Downturn, interest rates, infinite growth, "overhiring", lack of labor laws, etc.
I guess I hope that the severance is good; I hear some packages ranging from 3-6 months from friends. I got laid off twice in 2023 and it was a month's severance each time.
While it looks dramatic and I have sympathy for all who are being laid off, but it seems like it just a small correction back to sensible levels after overhiring after the pandemic. EA has...
While it looks dramatic and I have sympathy for all who are being laid off, but it seems like it just a small correction back to sensible levels after overhiring after the pandemic. EA has increased with over 10% in 2020 and 2021
I don't think they over hired at all. They hired as much as they needed to when the market asked for more and fully intended to shrink after the market cooled. You're seeing that now. None of...
I don't think they over hired at all. They hired as much as they needed to when the market asked for more and fully intended to shrink after the market cooled. You're seeing that now. None of these corps are having any real difficulties slashing their staff, it's just the logical result of a market slowing down.
Combine that with the absolute atrocious state of AAA gaming and development bloat and it's just what's expected. They aren't the first, nor the last that this will happen to. Sony yesterday, EA today, some other tomorrow.
Yeah, that's why I low key despise the term "overhiring" being used in these times. overhiring implies that it was a mangement mistake or oversight to take in a lot of people to try and grow as...
They hired as much as they needed to when the market asked for more and fully intended to shrink after the market cooled.
Yeah, that's why I low key despise the term "overhiring" being used in these times. overhiring implies that it was a mangement mistake or oversight to take in a lot of people to try and grow as fast as possible before the gold rush that was COVID died down for the games market. Quite the contrary; it was a low risk gamble with a payoff being the next Fortnite. Of course any studio that could, would try.
This is a similar strategy to most unicorn and now gigantic tech companies last decade; Twitter wasn't profitable at all in the 2010's, but is (was) the most top visited site for a time. Facebook went from a scappy Myspace killer to a trillion dollar juggernaut that can burn tens of billions on VR and barely break a sweat (for reference, the net worth of ALL of Sony, not just Playstation, is in the 100b ballpark). The only thing more powerful than raw profit is capturing the market to bend to your will, and that was the strategy last decade.
But the board changed, fast, and so did the strategies. Companies aren't in market capture mode right now, so they adjust accordingly. Layoffs aren't considered a managerial failure so much as a tool in the toolbox to break out when the time comes. Many companies expanded so quickly precisely because they had the security in knowing they can "simply" throw people out when they aren't profitable anymore. It may not be the ideal plan, but it was always a plan to consider.
I've read sentiment like this to the letter. It implies we know better than the beancounters that do this for a living. I've never had illusions that this was accidental, it was purposefully...
overhiring implies that it was a mangement mistake or oversight to take in a lot of people to try and grow as fast as possible before the gold rush that was COVID died down for the games market
I've read sentiment like this to the letter. It implies we know better than the beancounters that do this for a living.
I've never had illusions that this was accidental, it was purposefully filling the bubble. A bubble we knew would burst sooner rather than later, and the corporations knew this too.
You're right, this is just another tool in the toolbox.
There really needs to be a massive financial penalties to companies that conduct mass layoffs. Investors and management should not be getting rewarded for devastating the lives of their employees.
There really needs to be a massive financial penalties to companies that conduct mass layoffs. Investors and management should not be getting rewarded for devastating the lives of their employees.
Man, I'm never getting a full time job at this rate. I have plenty of gamedev stuff outside of work so I'm not worried about getting back in the industry eventually. But tech itself isn't exactly hot either.
Even attempts to find some temp work in my area to float on by as I interview shows that minimum wage work has slowed down. How are people even getting jobs these days?
I'd normally try to veer back on topic here but I'm not sure I have much new to say. Downturn, interest rates, infinite growth, "overhiring", lack of labor laws, etc.
I guess I hope that the severance is good; I hear some packages ranging from 3-6 months from friends. I got laid off twice in 2023 and it was a month's severance each time.
Respawn's Star Wars FPS was cancelled as a result, which is a major bummer
Frees up time for them to work on Titanfall 3 right ðŸ«
Another one bites the dust. I guess game companies also had losing weight on their new years resolutions.
While it looks dramatic and I have sympathy for all who are being laid off, but it seems like it just a small correction back to sensible levels after overhiring after the pandemic. EA has increased with over 10% in 2020 and 2021
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/EA/electronic-arts/number-of-employees
I don't think they over hired at all. They hired as much as they needed to when the market asked for more and fully intended to shrink after the market cooled. You're seeing that now. None of these corps are having any real difficulties slashing their staff, it's just the logical result of a market slowing down.
Combine that with the absolute atrocious state of AAA gaming and development bloat and it's just what's expected. They aren't the first, nor the last that this will happen to. Sony yesterday, EA today, some other tomorrow.
Yeah, that's why I low key despise the term "overhiring" being used in these times. overhiring implies that it was a mangement mistake or oversight to take in a lot of people to try and grow as fast as possible before the gold rush that was COVID died down for the games market. Quite the contrary; it was a low risk gamble with a payoff being the next Fortnite. Of course any studio that could, would try.
This is a similar strategy to most unicorn and now gigantic tech companies last decade; Twitter wasn't profitable at all in the 2010's, but is (was) the most top visited site for a time. Facebook went from a scappy Myspace killer to a trillion dollar juggernaut that can burn tens of billions on VR and barely break a sweat (for reference, the net worth of ALL of Sony, not just Playstation, is in the 100b ballpark). The only thing more powerful than raw profit is capturing the market to bend to your will, and that was the strategy last decade.
But the board changed, fast, and so did the strategies. Companies aren't in market capture mode right now, so they adjust accordingly. Layoffs aren't considered a managerial failure so much as a tool in the toolbox to break out when the time comes. Many companies expanded so quickly precisely because they had the security in knowing they can "simply" throw people out when they aren't profitable anymore. It may not be the ideal plan, but it was always a plan to consider.
I've read sentiment like this to the letter. It implies we know better than the beancounters that do this for a living.
I've never had illusions that this was accidental, it was purposefully filling the bubble. A bubble we knew would burst sooner rather than later, and the corporations knew this too.
You're right, this is just another tool in the toolbox.
There really needs to be a massive financial penalties to companies that conduct mass layoffs. Investors and management should not be getting rewarded for devastating the lives of their employees.