Trion hit by mass layoffs
Defiance developer reportedly makes deep cuts to staff, Rift and other games "unaffected"
The Defiance TV show is doing well, setting viewership records for Syfy and being picked up for a second season. The transmedia tie-in Defiance game is apparently another story entirely.
According to IGN, developer Trion Worlds instituted a huge round of layoffs today, with the site's sources putting the figure at more than half--possibly as much as 80 percent--of the workforce. IGN is also reporting that some senior developers are being denied severance packages due to "undelivered services."
Trion issued a statement about the cuts, saying, "To best position Trion in a rapidly changing industry, we have reorganized our teams and are expanding our free-to-play offering." The company said it will continue creating new content for the game, and that the rest of its games "were unaffected by these changes." Earlier this week, Trion announced that one such title, the subscription-based fantasy MMORPG Rift, would be converted to a free-to-play game.
As for Defiance, the game launched a couple weeks ahead of its tie-in TV show, landing on shelves April 2 and passing the 1 million registered user mark within a month of launch. It has been in development for five years.
[UPDATE] A Trion Worlds representative has told GamesIndustry International that the 80 percent figure reported is "grossly incorrect."
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I just hope that the genre dies very soon and that in some years someone with talent and some really fresh ideas comes along to pick it up again. When I remember back in the days when I played SWG and tought "This is so incredible! The open gameworld is so big and everywhere are players and everything is so detailed, seamless, with endless possibilites. I can also have my own shop, which I designed and let a droid sell the stuff my factories produced ... how will MMOGs be in 10 years from now? They must be like a real and living world by then!" Man was I wrong. They made a stupid Disneyland out of it and wonder why the visitors don't come back, once they 've grown up.
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Samuel Verner on 19th May 2013 1:34am