CCP - More Layoffs This Week

A company-wide meeting is currently being held at the Icelandic office of Eve Online developer CCP as the studio readies for a round of layoffs just months after the cancelation of the massively multiplayer game World of Darkness, a studio representative confirmed to Polygon.

As part of this restructuring, 49 employees will be laid off beginning today, we are told. CCP issued us the following statement, adding that severance packages will be offered to its employees who have been let go:

"As part of our strategy to focus on the EVE Universe, today CCP conducted a restructuring that resulted in the layoff of 49 people in our publishing organization. Though it is hard to say goodbye to our friends and family, this action concludes the process we started several months ago. CCP has provided severance packages and job placement assistance for those affected.

"Development teams and plans for EVE Online, EVE: Valkyrie, DUST 514, and 'Project Legion' are not impacted by the restructuring."

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For the video game industry, Monday 14 April 2014 was just another day of layoffs and wasted creative energy.

The massively multiplayer online game World of Darkness had spent nine years in development but was being cancelled, and its production studio CCP Atlanta slashed to a sliver of its former size. Fifty-six people lost their jobs.

Insiders could barely muster a collective shrug. A few wondered if anything could be done about the increasingly sorry state of the business, about developers like Irrational and 38 Studios closing and constant downsizing, but not many questioned how it had all happened this time. This was a project with a promising pedigree – based around one of the most popular table-top gaming franchises since Dungeons and Dragons.

How did it fall apart after almost a decade of work?

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abharsair said:

I feel sorry for the employees who lost their jobs, but I can't say that I feel bad about the cancelled MMO. With the WoD MMO gone the chances for a proper VtM sequel should have improved. After all, if CCP is getting low on money they might actually sell/grant the rights to the license to someone else who doesn't want to create a subscription/microtransaction abomination.

Or at least that's my hope.

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