2y ago

EA's BioWare will lay off 50 and cut ties with unionized Keywords playtesting group

EA’s BioWare will lay off 50 and cut ties with unionized Keywords playtesting group

Neither the layoffs nor breaking ties with a playtesting company that knows their worth in the market sound like they're going to help BioWare make RPGs that can compete with Baldur's Gate 3, formerly a BioWare series.

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2y ago

EA’s BioWare will lay off 50 and cut ties with unionized Keywords playtesting group

venturebeat.com /games/eas-bioware-will-lay-off-50-and-cut-ties-with-unionized-keywords-playtesting-group/

9 comments

Wait, when was Baldur's Gate a BioWare series? That's the first time I'm hearing about this.
Edit: Well how about that...
- The previous two games, 20 years ago. It's what gave them the reputation of being a studio that made great RPGs. Then they went on to make Neverwinter Nights (another D&D game), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Star Wars with rules very close to D&D), Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age.
- BioWare actually made Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 lol
- 1 & 2 were both bioware developed games - including their original expansions.
- BioWare made BG 1 & 2 back in the day, and they started Dragon Age as a spiritual successor to their DnD games as I would imagine (and assume) that EA didn’t want to deal with WoTC with getting the license to a DnD game.
  So it’s kind of ironic that arguably one of the best games to come out this year is a Baldur’s Gate game as the new Dragon Age game sounds like it might be languishing in development.
Damn, even if it's coincidental like the article suggests; those two things happening at once is NOT a good look for Bioware. Especially with BG3 being such a huge success.
However, some slim silver lining for those being laid off is that EA/Bioware appear to be handling the situation more gracefully than others. From the article:
McKay said that EA chose to act now to provide impacted colleagues with as many internal opportunities as possible. These changes coincide with a significant number of roles that are currently open across EA’s other studios. Impacted employees will be provided with professional resources and assistance as they apply for these positions. Those departing will receive credit in the game.
I highlight the last part because removing people from credits is a shit thing to do and I'm glad to see them overtly state this will not be the case. Hopefully this is not just PR BS and the laid off employees get new roles quickly.
- Not gonna lie. I read that as “in-game credits” and was curious why you were lauding EA for pulling something worse than company scrip.
  The fact that this is notable tells a lot about the industry, and where major publishers can add low-stakes, low-cost value to their dev positions by just beating out others in the industry getting notoriety for being worse. It’s still good that they’re doing it, but it costs them 30 minutes of someone’s time to do something most publishers should be doing as a standard practice.
- True, as long as the game isn't cancelled. Though I suppose that'd be the end of the studio if it were cancelled.
Yeah. I'm sure laying off staff who have been crunching on Dreadwolf for who knows how long is really going to "unlock the creativity" of everyone left. At least some of the people laid off will be able to find work in other parts of the company. Honestly, if Dreadwolf and the new Mass Effect aren't successes then I feel like it will only be a matter of time until we hear about EA shutting the studio down. Hopefully, Dreadwolf is good and sells well, but the people working on it have to be under a lot of pressure between the layoffs, Biowares last two games failing, and BG3 setting a new standard for RPGs.

9 comments