Warren Spector, the lead developer who worked on some of the greatest games of all time, is mad. Really, really mad. Like so many others, the news of EA’s closing BioWare has hit him hard, and two weeks later he’s still reeling. Now he’s calling for senior heads to roll in an industry that only ever seems to punish the creatives they stifle.
Two weeks ago, as news broke about the BioWare closure by the now-Saudi-owned EA, Spector posted on his LinkedIn how the usually cordial developer was driven to cursing by the news, describing the “devastating historical event” as “utter bullshit.” He noted that he’d like to see the “folks in suits” losing their jobs, asking them to consider “what do you contribute to gaming? What price do you pay for failure?”, and declaring his wish to see those people on the unemployment line, not the developers who “do the real work.”
Over the last fortnight Spector’s mood has only worsened. Noting that he’s very aware of the scale of lay-offs across the whole games industry, he explains that “for some reason, BioWare hit me on an emotional level that nothing had before.” He adds, “I felt gut-punched.”
There were those who, after the news broke that the studio behind Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age and Mass Effect would be no more, that the developer’s best days were behind it, and that it made business sense to close what was left of the once huge studio given the commercial failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. “Fair enough,” says Spector, “but those folks clearly didn’t read my whole screed. Near the end I expressed that I was incensed that the business people who make the decisions that lead to studio closures—ALL of them, not just BioWare—never seem to pay a price.”
Going on to call such people “culture-killers,” Spector points out that once-great studios don’t lose talent because everything is going well. “If studio-level people leave, resulting in dilution of talent, someone is creating an environment that pushes them out.” And he points out that somehow those executives rarely seem to be the ones paying the price. “Do they lose sleep let alone jobs?” The furious tirade continues,
Do those same executives suffer like developers when the needs of financial partners and private investors take precedence over the people who actually create value, let alone over the interests of players? Does anyone up there in or adjacent to the C-suite care?
Is there ANY accountability left in this world?
Obviously not. At EA alone Andrew Wilson still makes his $38.65 million; Laura Miele, $13.7 million; Stuart Canfield, $11.3 million; Jake Schatz, $8.4 million; Mala Singh, $8.3 million.
Meanwhile, Spector points to the tens of thousands of developers who are out of work as a result of poor management. “And these people think they’re worth that kind of compensation?”
The legendary creator finishes his post saying, “And if you think this is a discussion about ‘sound business decisions’ I hope you never get anywhere near running a business. Or at least that people have the sense not to go work for you.”
