Trion Team Layoffs

[Spriggs]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/...3b5e775c000032

Well, that sucks.

[Valeron]

That's a big bummer.

Seems there are always layoffs right before the Christmas holidays.

[Fencers]

Likely had to hire some people while SL was in development. Seems logical post-xpac they let some go. Esp. in departments such as art and such.

[DeltrusDisc]

Sad to hear that.

[Stormykitten]

Aye, they basically say it in the statement, but in nicely wrapped words. Product timelines, heh...

Either way, it's a harsh industry that way - hope the devs find employment elsewhere. Although I don't play Rift, I always thought it seemed pretty well-done designwise, despite the initial impression i had (too much clone - I was wrong though), and so i hope players that enjoy it can keep doing so

[Deleted]

it was for EoN and other projects too not all of the layoffs where just exclusively rift
most of the staff layed off from rift where working on getting SL pushed out as well. EoN, went bad and has gone in-house so to speak, because petroglyph had layoffs too, this post feels very mis-informed.

Actual Trion statement:

"As a response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company, we have made some organizational changes, which include a workforce reduction. This was a difficult decision and we wish the best for those affected by these changes. At Trion, we remain focused on delivering top quality online game experiences, and are committed to supporting RIFT and launching our highly anticipated new titles Defiance, Warface, and End of Nations in 2013."

This is where IGN got their info:


As much as one-third of the development team working on MMO Rift at Trion Worlds was let go on Tuesday, Gamasutra has learned.

An affected source(?) tells us that the number of developers out of work today -- developers spanning several disciplines, including artists and designers -- numbers somewhere in the neighborhood of 40.(?)

The company confirmed that there were layoffs today "in response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company," though refused to confirm either the number affected or whether it was the Rift team specifically.

The first expansion pack for Rift launched just last month. Trion does not share its subscriber numbers (or the sales of expansions such as this), but it may be worth noting that the expansion became accessible for free just one month later as part of promotion. (did it? if i read right its for like 3 days, as a trial, and they do this every patch, there is always free days before or just after)

In all honesty it feels like the article is trying to spread some wide "OMGZZZ RIFT IS DEAD F2P F2P" shit.

And to end on this quote:
"Shortly after launch, Trion called the sales of the expansion "Amazingly well; beyond expectations" citing a 13% adoption rate over their initial target of 7% for players who purchased the one year subscription bundle"

[DeadmanWalking]

As the only mmo that has necromancers who actually employ corpses as servants I am looking into playing rifts regardless of what this article says or implies, but I think that everyone should keep in mind that only time will tell us if this is a good thing and to try not to doomsay or even shine a turd based on liking or disliking the game. Keep an open mind and hope this is for the best.

[Requiemcliff]

Likely had to hire some people while SL was in development. Seems logical post-xpac they let some go. Esp. in departments such as art and such.

Yeah, that's the general guess I'd assume, kinda sad still.

[Deleted]

People has said Rift is dead since it launched tbh =)
But another thread said there has been a population increase? Sure, with next to no marketing of the game, and other things... they seem to be settling for a smaller community of players... which is ok but then perhaps it's unnecessary to have more resources working there than needed. If no plans to expand playerbase, no need for unneeded workforce... keep everything as small as possible but still have the game going. Shouldnt perhaps be worrying, with less staff they would probably at worst put out content as fast as the other mmos, not in todays rocketing speed =)

[Antipathy]

People has said Rift is dead since it launched tbh =)
But another thread said there has been a population increase? Sure, with next to no marketing of the game, and other things... they seem to be settling for a smaller community of players... which is ok but then perhaps it's unnecessary to have more resources working there than needed. If no plans to expand playerbase, no need for unneeded workforce... keep everything as small as possible but still have the game going. Shouldnt perhaps be worrying, with less staff they would probably at worst put out content as fast as the other mmos, not in todays rocketing speed =)

good point. I would go as far as to also outline that We have no confirmation if the team was involved in Rift or with the other titles Trion has under development (they're close to launching quite a few of those) and it may just be that their services are no longer required now that the games are about ready to ship.

Its always sad to hear a developer letting people go, and we aren't privy to any information that would enable us to determine whether or not these layoffs are financially motivated. the timing is a bit off however, with the developer indicating that they've exceeded the targets set for SL adoption by a healthy margin.

[smartazjb0y]

Possibly off-topic, but anyone else get the feeling Trion is completely fine with having a smaller player-base? Of course every company would want to have WoW's numbers and revenue, but disregarding the layoffs, it seems like Trion was doing well financially and not doing any sort of money-grubbing whatsoever. They just keep chugging along making content, satisfying (for the most part) the player base, and being awesome. You never get the sense that they're bummed out Rift doesn't have big numbers. On the contrary, it seems they're completely fine with the numbers they have.

[Zafire]

I was going to play Rift starting xmas too Seems like it may be going downhill. Bleh, just my luck!

[Antipathy]

I was going to play Rift starting xmas too Seems like it may be going downhill. Bleh, just my luck!

Before you jump the gun, we're getting a new patch today, lol, less than a month into SL's launch - with a new raid, world event, and a single player dungeon to boot. Game is in a very good place atm.

@Smartazjb0y, I think you need to be realistic in any business as to what mountains you can climb - Rift is not mainstream, and is not designed to be so - the average accessibility of the game and needed insights to play require a specific subset of the playerbase (you can die out in the world, shocking, I know). I think they had modest aspirations to begin with, made a lot of noise, captured a market share, and are working very hard to keep it. I'm sure more would be welcome, but it would come at the expense of what they already have, and in a market where change is frightening to the average player (time investment, tribalism, you name it) I think they've done remarkably well

[Black Rider]

Ouch, 30 people let go from Trion's San Francisco office.
http://bit.ly/RowBP5
That's bad :/
For game development and for the laid off people too...

Trion Worlds goes through 'workforce reduction'

http://bit.ly/QUTQir

[Tarien]

Apparently a lot of the jobs were QA, without a massive expansion to test this makes sense. Maybe they'll let guilds test all of the bosses now

[Deleted]

Actually this will pretty much have no impact on the game what so ever, I'm actually glad to here this, I have a fairly good understanding of who got laid off and why =)

To the best of my understanding it was mainly the QA team who were doing an absolutely awful job and also they thinned out the EoN crew, while also getting rid of some Developers that I can only describe as not being fit for purpose, Although there are a couple of people I was sad to see go (Walshingham). Personally, this article has been wayyyy over hyped and also very poorly worded, that is a fairly typical IGN thing to do.

To the best of my knowledge EON was a fairly 'flopped' game and I believe the development costs of it resulted in Trion worlds taking a bit of a hit, since the only title they are making money is from is RIFT, then obviously money is being taken out of what could be used for RIFT development to cover that finicial loss.

Without giving to much knowledge away, honestly you guys have nothing to worry about, Storm Legion sales exceeded expectations, the population since storm legion release has almost doubled. So take a chill pill, Defiance will be out soon and I'm already forecasting that for great success, which will help to further re-coup the costs of EON and also help RIFT bounce back into full swing, Although personally I believe the Q and A team were complete **** as most, if not all of the QA was done by players and by having them they were just throwing money away, so I am generally glad to here this believe it or not :P

[Cupcaek]

To the best of my understanding it was mainly the QA team who were doing an absolutely awful job and also they thinned out the EoN crew, while also getting rid of some Developers that I can only describe as not being fit for purpose, Although there are a couple of people I was sad to see go (Walshingham). Personally, this article has been wayyyy over hyped and also very poorly worded, that is a fairly typical IGN thing to do.

Walsingham no longer being apart of Trion had nothing to do with the layoffs. Not only that but he's been gone since the beginning of October.

[slime]

Possibly off-topic, but anyone else get the feeling Trion is completely fine with having a smaller player-base? Of course every company would want to have WoW's numbers and revenue, but disregarding the layoffs, it seems like Trion was doing well financially and not doing any sort of money-grubbing whatsoever. They just keep chugging along making content, satisfying (for the most part) the player base, and being awesome. You never get the sense that they're bummed out Rift doesn't have big numbers. On the contrary, it seems they're completely fine with the numbers they have.

I'll take it a step further, from when I started Rift - I have never paid more than $8 a month to play it, and a grand total of $10 for the game... because I wanted the a spider mount . When it comes to price, this company has more than satisfied - how many companies can you really say that about and especially in the realm of entertainment. I am having a blast in SL and I havent even started raiding yet - finally hit 424 hit last night and hoping to sneak into a pug raid this reset.

[RoninaThorstone]

The first expansion pack for Rift launched just last month. Trion does not share its subscriber numbers (or the sales of expansions such as this), but it may be worth noting that the expansion became accessible for free just one month later as part of promotion. (did it? if i read right its for like 3 days, as a trial, and they do this every patch, there is always free days before or just after)

In all honesty it feels like the article is trying to spread some wide "OMGZZZ RIFT IS DEAD F2P F2P" shit.

Yeah. There's just too much that isn't adding up for this to be reliable.
I mean, I would expect that you would shed workers after completing an expansion but this article seems a little to "fact lite"

---------- Post added 2012-12-12 at 01:26 PM ----------

I was going to play Rift starting xmas too Seems like it may be going downhill. Bleh, just my luck!

That's so silly.

[Puremallace]

Ouch, 30 people let go from Trion's San Francisco office.
http://bit.ly/RowBP5
That's bad :/
For game development and for the laid off people too...

Trion Worlds goes through 'workforce reduction'

http://bit.ly/QUTQir

"Not a good day. If anyone has a lead for a Sr. EQ or Assistant Lead QA job, please let me know."

Who did not see those QA lay offs coming though honestly? Sorry these guys lost their jobs, but come the fuck on people have you seen the quality of the raids released lately here?

Sorry, but shitty bugged raids cost companies subscribers in a very competitive genre and Trion obviously got fed up with it and did not want to repeat chocolate Rift.

Here

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-gene...sible-fix.html
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-gene...-overkill.html

One locked thread after another and the best raiders get is zero communication on shit QA should have clearly caught. I 100% support the QA changes. EoN not being released on time due to QA and bugged scenarios HAD to be costly.

I promise you they told Atrius something because his ass magically became more communicative lately here with a load of pissed off warriors he either drove from the game or out of the class all together.

I think they will be better because of this. Expect a letter from Scott Hartsman shortly owning this and putting confidence back into the game.