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more about #disturbanceintheworkforce TheOmnitron: We got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is your all fired. The good news is you have an extended Christmas holiday! Merry fucking Christ... more » MrBounce: Ouch, 2 days before Xmas ? :( Hopefully the people who lost their jobs can find new ones quickly. more » James Henderson: Never heard of these guys at all before (probably because I stay well away from movie tie-ins) but I wish them the best of luck in finding new employm... more » Cptn.PaxtonAstypalaea(Corsair): I have to wonder who makes the decisions on timing? I mean, firing someone over Christmas seems like the most arsehole move one can make. I hope at le... more » ThursdayNext: "that's a sizeable percentage of the studio's total workforce" Indeed, I'd say it's somewhere in the region of 60-70%. Not sure whether losing your ... more » CMay: Reportedly, they were going to revitalize the Coach line of games with the first new title being My Business Coach for the DS. While researching abou... more » funkmastafrost: As a former employee, I have had to do lots of research regarding these tax issues. The government knows of Mr. Rushton's tax exploits. Regarding Soci... more » Andrew Wyatt: "Oh, and speaking of taxes? A former employee, who sent us this tip, told Kotaku that his (and others') Social Security taxes hadn't been paid in 2007... more » Archaotic: Jobs in this industry are incredibly competitive because so many want to work in it, and will make great sacrifices to do so, and are reminded by peop... more » 8ighty6ix: A lot of good friends worked in First Party, I feel bad for them. I tried to get one a job in a different department but no luck. Really sucks. more » bob_ross: QA really needs to unionize but they are all chicken shit "but I love my job so much, I don't want to make trouble". more » DrezKill: I work as a QA game tester for a freelance game testing company on the East coast. It's always tough to hear about layoffs and job cuts in our under-a... more » deanbmmv: At least they had QA guys to lay off. Some games recently make you wonder if anyone else actually hires any. Sony tend to be quiet good with their QA,... more » TheOmnitron: Sorry to hear guys, QA is under appreciated and under payed. Good luck, I hope you find new positions quickly. My condolences are heartfelt and sincere. more » BanhammerStrikesBack: Having worked at SCEA this was long overdue. Although it wasn't the testers faults, more along the lines of management just not doing a very good job.... more » wirebrain: ... In other news, Sony's new reality show just got 100 new free contestants to keep their jobs! more » scrapking: One of the analysts, perhaps it was Michael Pachter, said not to worry about the likely decline in music game sales, because it's to be expected over ... more » 8ighty6ix: I had spoken to a fellow from Harmonix and one of the things that really impressed me was that they don't use a Staffing Agency for their QA testers. ... more » Friedhamster: I'm amazed there's more than 50 people working on these games. Isn't the team that made Uncharted 2 less than 100? Sixty pops into my mind for some ... more » darientalem: QA gets nailed in another company ;/ Companies take them for granted, and are going more for the "We can just patch it in later" approach. Outsourcing... more » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Rumor: Big Layoffs At Heavy Iron Studios [Update]
We've learned over the weekend that most of the employees at Heavy Iron - a former THQ subsidiary that's best-known for its movie tie-in games - may be spending the holiday season looking for a new job. More » -
#labor
Back Pay is Hell, and Utah Devs Still Aren't Getting Any
When we last left Sensory Sweep, the Utah studio that just stopped paying employees, it cut a deal with the government to pay back nearly $1 million by September. That hasn't happened, and its founder is facing tax evasion charges. More » -
#scea
Dozens of Tester Jobs Affected in Sony QA Consolidation
Sony Computer Entertainment America is consolidating its two QA groups in one location, meaning 30 staff positions are being sent from the Bay Area to San Diego, Calif., and we hear another 100 contract positions were affected. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Rock Band Makers Harmonix Lays Off 39
Thirty-nine of the approximately 300 employees at Harmonix, development studio of the Rock Band series, were laid off from the company today, in a move said to result from a shift in game-testing rather than a reflection on game sales. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Rumor: Big Layoffs At Aspyr
Aspyr, a publisher best known for porting games to the PC & Mac, is today instead best known for supposedly firing a whole bunch of employees. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Square Enix Cuts European Jobs
'Tis the season to be...unemployed, sadly, with Square Enix announcing today that job cuts are on the way for the company's London studio. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Layoffs Hit Star Wars Developers
Last week, Krome Studios - developers of several Star Wars & Spyro titles - laid off a number of employees as tough times hit the veteran Australian development house. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Confirmed: EA Closes Pandemic Studios, Says Brand Will Live On
Early this morning we broke the news that Electronic Arts planned to close down Pandemic Studios, laying off 200. Now we have confirmation. More » -
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#bidness
EA Will Hire Back Some Positions It Cut
Also at today's Digital Entertainment Conference in New York, Electronic Arts' chief financial officer, Eric Brown, said the company will be hiring back some of those positions it axed earlier this week. But it sounds like just the cheaper ones. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
EA Cutting 1500 Jobs To Reduce Costs
Lending credence to the rumors of massive layoffs, EA details a "cost reduction plan" in its 2nd quarter financial results press release that will result in the termination of 1,500 employees.
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#rumor
Rumor: EA Guts Workforce After Big Playfish Buyout
Electronic Arts has taken the ax to hundreds of employees at locations in Burnaby, Orlando and San Francisco today, according to chatter from former EA employees, issuing layoffs the same day it confirms a buyout of social gaming publisher Playfish. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Square Enix Fire Some People
It's already been announced that the severance payouts to Taito employees has drained money from parent company Square Enix. Those were the only cuts Square Enix has made post Eidos-buyout. More » -
#layoffs
Romero's Slipgate Ironworks Hammered Down, MMO Project Still On
Slipgate Ironworks, the game development company founded by ex-id Software, ex-Ion Storm designer John Romero, has been pared down by parent company Gazillion, Kotaku has learned, with the start up's unnamed MMO still in development with a "smaller core team."
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#rumor
Activision Lays Off Shaba's Ranks, Closes Studio [Update]
San Francisco-based developer Shaba Games is no more, according to a pair of Kotaku tipsters who wished to remain anonymous. The developer of Spider-man: Web of Shadows is said to have been shuttered by parent company Activision today. More » -
#rumor
Activision Subtracts From 7 Studios, Hits Ex-Scratch Dev With Layoffs
In April, publisher Activision purchased 7 Studios, then the developer of DJ Hero competitor Scratch the Ultimate DJ. Today, Kotaku has been told by sources close to the studio, it laid off an estimated 30 people from 7 Studios. More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Cricket Game Developer Lays Off A Third of Its Staff
The Melbourne-based developer of Ashes Cricket 2009, Transmission Games, has made 30 of its workers redundant this week, reports Kotaku Australia. More » -
#rumor
Square Enix Japan To Cut 200 to 300 Jobs
If the small number of booths at this year's Tokyo Game Show is any indication, the Japanese game industry has seen better days. Even large Japanese companies are hurting. More » -
#maxis
Maxis Layoffs Include Outspoken Spore Dev Chris Hecker
Electronic Arts' recent attempt to "focus" Spore developer Maxis—which was a nicer way of saying some people got laid off—includes one of its more rant-ready folks, Chris Hecker, a Technology Fellow at the company. Remember him? More » -
#disturbanceintheworkforce
Raven Hit By Layoffs, Some Point to Lackluster Wolfenstein Sales
Raven Software, developers of recently released Wolfenstein and soon to be released Singluarlity, let 30 to 35 go from their Wisconsin studios, sources tell Kotaku.
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#disturbanceintheworkforce
Six Days In Fallujah Causes Casualties At Atomic Games
Atomic Games, the developer behind Six Days in Fallujah, have been forced to cut their development staff due to a lack of funding for the controversial game.
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