Another Round of Layoffs Hit Harmonix
Unfortunately, this is not a repost of a previous story, but rather a new story happening today. From a purely business standpoint, it was almost assuredly expected, based on the recent sale from Viacom. I’ve been chatting with a number of different people early this morning, but now that the story has “gone public,” I feel like it should be probably addressed here, as well. Joystiq is reporting that the layoffs are a result of “bringing the studio into alignment with current product development plans.”
Layoffs are never fun. They’re not taken lightly, and the impact on not only those directly affected, but indirectly as well, cannot be understated. I hope those affected find new and exciting opportunities in the future. Thanks for everything you have done! The Rock Band community truly appreciates everyone’s efforts!
[Joystiq]
Print This Post
Expected but terrible.
Sans Reply:
February 7th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Agreed.
This really isn’t something that is particularly uncommon. Although when it comes to games, it seems to be “big news” after a game is released that is seen as “doing poorly”, or some other big event happens, like the change in ownership. Especially for “smaller” studios.
From the article, between 29 and 36 people were laid off. Now that RB3 and DC are out, and most of the major bugs seem to have been worked out, it is very conceivable that these people were comprised mostly of QA testers and marketing staff- which are staff that aren’t really needed unless there is a major release being prepared for.
They also mentioned that these changes wont affect future DLC. So really, I don’t think there is anything to worry about here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if those laid off knew it was coming. Sucks, but they’ll find other work.
i wish all the best for those affected, and hope they are successful in finding new endeavors.
Wow, that sucks for those affected. Like the OP, I hope that you guys that are affected can find new employment quickly!
Thanks for everything you did to make RB such an amazing product!!!
Hope all those affected can find jobs soon. It’s a tough market out there.
They probably laid off the people they hired to chart Dream Theater for RB3, after realizing it would take longer to do a Pro chart for one Dream Theater song than the combined time spent Pro charting the entire RB3 setlist.
In all seriousness, best of luck to those laid off, regardless of their position at Harmonix.
-Rick
Sucks. Hope they all find new gigs soon.
Sucky :/ hope the ones being laid off will find new jobs they enjoy quickly…
Terrible. That sucks too bad. I am sure they were all very talented people so I wish luck to them AND to Harmonix alike.
Been there, done that, couldn’t afford the T-shirt
Good luck in finding new jobs and thanks for your work on my favorite game
If you are any of the employees affected, my sympathies go out to you. And remember, your music will always be there for you in those tough times.
I hope you’ve been treated well, and have been given a lot of time to prepare for this (and good references). With luck, many of you will already know where they’re working next.
For the rest… I think you’ve done really good work. Good luck in the future.