Developers at The Coalition are fearing imminent layoffs following the release of Gears of War: E-Day, after a slew of cutbacks from XBOX last month.
A wide range of layoffs hit multiple XBOX studios in September, which included Halo being moved under Activision’s stewardship, but The Coalition was mostly spared.
Gears of War: E-Day story director Juan Vaca was laid off ahead of launch, but while others were spared, they’re not optimistic about what lies ahead.
The Coalition Devs Fear Layoffs
Speaking to Eurogamer, employees of The Coalition, granted anonymity, expressed their fear that they could lose their jobs in the near future, with XBOX’s planned layoffs this fiscal year not over.
While those employees feel that Microsoft does have faith in the studio, there is an air of trepidation, and while not on a “full death march,” they would “not celebrate the game until we’re three months post launch, just in case.”
Any feeling of safety was wiped away two weeks ago with XBOX’s latest layoff slew, which included the aforementioned Juan Vaca and a few staff that were ‘quietly let go,’ according to the report.
Those exits have been described as “very demoralising,” leaving other developers “unhappy about it and on edge,” with it added that they’re now “just expecting the next wave, or being reorganised under Activision or something later this year.”
Additionally, any layoffs could impact developers in line for bonuses based on how the game performs, as the details of the bonus structure state that developers must be “full-time employees at the time of the payout,” meaning those laid off may not be eligible.
Eurogamer adds that the issue of bonuses “should be near the end of October,” and while that’s just a few weeks away, there’s certainly a fear that another axe could swing imminently.
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