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The recent layoffs at BioWare, the studio behind the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard, have sparked significant conversation within the gaming community about the state of the industry. These layoffs have brought to light the broader issue of job security and corporate management in game development.
Michael Daus, the publishing director at Larian Studios, has been vocal on social media about the need for better treatment of employees in the gaming industry. He argues that layoffs, especially between or after projects, are detrimental to retaining crucial institutional knowledge that is vital for the success of future projects.
Daus criticizes the common corporate practice of "trimming the fat" as a justification for layoffs, suggesting that it reflects an unnecessary focus on aggressive efficiency by large corporations. He points out that while this might be understandable under financial pressure, it is not a sustainable solution, especially when companies are not consistently releasing successful games. He believes that the real problem lies with the strategies developed by those in higher management positions, yet it is the employees at the lower levels who bear the brunt of these decisions.
In a striking metaphor, Daus suggests that video game companies should be managed more like pirate ships, where the captain (or those in charge) would be held accountable for the ship's failures rather than the crew. This approach, he implies, would foster a more responsible and employee-centric management culture within the gaming industry.
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