Good PR be can do wonders for a company. When done right, players go nuts for the announcement and the community grows. But what to do when the information is something the players aren’t going to like? You spin it. That’s exactly what Icarus Studios did last week when it was disclosed that the company is undergoing a “restructuring.”
The “restructuring” is seeing 82 people lose their jobs. That is roughly 75% of the staff. The restructure will see Icarus Studios, the technology people behind Fallen Earth, merge with Fallen Earth, LLC, the content providers and support group. We covered the odd development partnership during our Patch v1.4 preview at PAX East.
Speaking of Patch v1.4, the Blood Sports patch is still on schedule for release this Friday. The company assured the community that previously planned Community events are on target, and development beyond v1.4 continues.
Despite the loss of Lee Hammock, and the large cutbacks, Fallen Earth is not closing. Jessica Orr told The Escapist that the remaining 28 staffers range from GMs to developers to customer service, and that all office resources remain on site. Furthermore, “The game is actually performing quite well. [S]ubscriptions are doing well and we are on schedule to release the Blood Sports Patch 1.4.”
We wish those laid off all the best.
“We wish those laid off all the best.”
Wow, that’s probably the best way to say “Thanks for all your waste of space, now Get Out”.
I mean, 10, or 20 losses is a small chunk (albeit Bad for the guys who actually get fired), But 82!? For crying out loud, that’s like saying your MMO isn’t going anywhere fast now, or it never was to begin with, which is equally as bad.
It’s like Rubbing Dirt in the eyes of people who strived to make the game and then saying they were as helpful to the company as a sack of Beans.
Yikes, that’s terrible. :\
Seems like such an odd thing to do after splitting the company not too long ago. Maybe it wasn’t the great idea they thought it would be.
@Nextgener
To clear the air, I said “We wish those laid off all the best,” not Icarus/Fallen Earth LLC.