Maintaining relevancy and longevity is one of the hardest things to do in the video game industry. As weird as it is to say, it’s “easy” to make a good game if you follow certain principles and know what you’re doing. That’s why the indie game market is full of up-and-coming teams and talents primed to take over. But what’s hard is to make great games consistently and profit from them, especially with the rising cost of titles and the increased call for quality. Bioware was a developer who once dominated the industry, and now they’re very far from the point in their history.
To say the studio has been going through a lot in recent years would be an understatement. They’ve attempted to make incredible games, but pretty much every one of them has backfired. Not the least was the “epic fail” that was Anthem. Plus, while they’ve promised a “return to form” with upcoming titles like Mass Effect 5 and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, we’ve had little to no significant updates on either of them.
That led to a message yesterday dropped by General Manager Gary McKay, who went onto the company’s blog to announce a huge shift in the company’s structure. By “shift,” he didn’t mean simply in the abstract sense:
“As part of this transition, we are eliminating approximately 50 roles at BioWare. That is deeply painful and humbling to write. We are doing everything we can to ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication.“
According to McKay, this decision was made so that the “health” and “long-term vision” of the studio could be maintained and refocused on. He also notes that those who have been let go will be provided opportunities to stay within Bioware or EA as a whole via other positions:
“While this is an extremely difficult day for everyone at BioWare, we are making changes now to build a brighter future.”
There are many ways that fans are interpreting this massive layoff, and as one can imagine, most of them aren’t positive. After all, these are hardly the first “departures” from the company in recent times. Many people in high-ranking positions have been leaving left and right, and others have been talking about the “changed conditions” and “thought processes” that have made the company a “shell of its former self.”
While McKay may truly feel that this move will help “streamline work and creativity,” only time and game releases will prove if that’s true or not.
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