Over the weekend, rumors began to swirl that Square Enix has laid off numerous employees at its Los Angeles office. The nature of these massive games means these occurrences are, sadly, frequent. The norm is that a culling happens post-launch, not before a launch.
Hence the worry surrounding the reports as Final Fantasy XIV is set to relaunch in mid 2013. Massively got in touch with Senior Director of Public Relations Riley Brennan who confirmed a restructuring and workforce reduction, but one that would not impact any online games.
In order to ensure it is operating effectively, the Square Enix Los Angeles office has reduced its workforce. This was a difficult decision and we wish the best for those affected by these changes. The decision will not have any impact on the operations of MMO titles. Customers can expect those services to continue, including the upcoming launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
While it appears the the development of FFXIV, the newly-announced space sim Star Galaxy or Wakfu won’t be disturbed, Brennan did not announce what titles would be. Our thoughts to all those affected by the unspecified amount of layoffs.
As with any game that’s released, there’s always the hype train following closely behind promising players the world, and while on rare occasions a game does deliver, most of the time it’s far from it. Today, we look at the top five most disappointing MMO games of the last three years as we break down just what happened and where they went wrong.
