Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian Studios, commented on the current mass layoffs sweeping the video game industry, calling it an “inevitable failure.”
Screenshot from Baldur's Gate III (2023), Larian Studios
In an interview with Gamefile, Douz criticized the mass layoffs affecting many major companies as part of a corporate culture driven by shareholder interests.
Indeed, Douz blames the wave of layoffs because companies see this as an opportunity to maximize profits. He said: “But to prevent these massive operational failures, which we call layoffs, are avoidable debacles. That's really all there is to it.”
He further added: Because companies say, “It's finally time.” Now we can do that too. We've wanted to do it for many years. So does everyone else. So why not? That's really disgusting. ”
Screenshot from Baldur's Gate III (2023), Larian Studios
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Douse said Larian Studios intended to avoid this by not making the company public, arguing that if it did, it would “go against the quality part of what we're trying to do.”
He elaborated: It only makes us impatient.If you ask me something Baldur's Gate III I have no idea how much it would cost or what it would have looked like three years ago. We just took it day by day. As a strategy, we created a reserve fund. We narrowed our scope based on what we thought we would need and created backups and alternatives in case we needed them. Fortunately, you don't have to. We are just nimble. It's important to be agile. Large companies are not agile. ”
Screenshot from Baldur's Gate III (2023), Larian Studios
Douse also addressed the game's success, noting that developing video games is not rocket science. pal world.
He said, “They took a lot of mechanics that they knew people liked, made a game that didn't bother with what the game should be, and delivered it directly to the players who decided to buy it. It's really that simple. It's not rocket science.”
“Analysts are confused because they didn't expect that to happen. And they want basic data sets and predictability. They're going to be very confused going forward. Me too. “I like chaos. We function best in chaos,” he added.
Screenshot from Baldur's Gate III (2023), Larian Studios
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Mr. Douse's comments are: Baldur's Gale III Director Swen Wincke criticized the layoffs in his acceptance speech at the Game Developers Conference Awards in March.
He said: “I've fought with publishers all my life. I keep seeing the same, same, same mistakes over and over again, but it's always the quarterly profit. The only thing that matters is the numbers, and then they fire everyone. , like next year they'll say, “We're running out of developers.” And then you start hiring people again, and then you make acquisitions, and you put them in the same loop again, and it just breaks and breaks and breaks.
Vincke continued: All you have to do is make a reservation. Please slow down a little. Be less greedy. Be resilient, value your people, and don't lose the institutional knowledge you have built up in the people you lose every time. As a result, you have to go through the same cycle over and over again. That really pisses me off. ”
Screenshot from Baldur's Gate III (2023), Larian Studios
The system criticized by Douse and Vincke has also been criticized throughout the video game industry. X user Vagrant from Rhodes recently shared a thread on social media platforms stating: Wage lag, shrinkflation, inflation, automation, sameness, and declining quality. ”
Quick 🧵: Break the cycle of price gouging, wage lag, shrinkflation, inflation, automation, sameness, and declining quality as our economy transforms into a cartelized financial scheme rather than an open market. There is no real competition that can exist. . 1/ https://t.co/EHmnFS2Q6C
— Vagrant of Rhodes 🗡️🕯️ (@vagrantwires) April 5, 2024
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He later added: “Across industries, we will see the same phenomena over and over again: consolidation, price increases, quality reductions, automation. And this change is not limited to end sellers, but distributors, shipping/logistics. It’s happening to companies and suppliers as well.”
“As the economic focus shifts from product competition to financial competition, inflationary pressures become a death sentence, fueling a downward spiral of profiteering. There will be a hike,” he explained.
As the economic focus shifts from product competition to financial competition, inflationary pressures become a death sentence, fueling a downward spiral of profiteering. Companies will automate, reduce labor, reduce quality, downsize, and raise prices all at the same time. Five/ pic.twitter.com/T5aFnBakoY
— Vagrant of Rhodes 🗡️🕯️ (@vagrantwires) April 5, 2024
Using a cereal vendor as a hypothetical, he explained: “Let's say I'm a cereal distributor that owns 40% of the market, and I have two other conglomerates that each own 30% of my competitors, and we all make variations of the same product.Basically, We can set the base price at a level that will earn everyone the most cash.”
“We could reduce the size of a family-sized box by 2-3 ounces, but we could also raise the price by $0.50 “due to inflation.'' Also, our “competitors'' are doing the exact same thing, so we risk “There is no, because financial incentives guarantee this 'normative behavior across the market,'” he elaborated.
You can also reduce the family size box by 2-3 ounces, but you can also increase the price by $0.50 “due to inflation.” There is no risk because your “competitor” is doing the exact same thing. Because financial incentives guarantee this behavior. As the standard for the entire market. 8/
— Vagrant of Rhodes 🗡️🕯️ (@vagrantwires) April 5, 2024
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Additionally, Rhodes' Vaigland said, “Also, as this process begins to take shape, corporate leadership will refocus on political and regime loyalty projects, seeking investor goodwill and political capital rather than products.'' It is highly likely that we will be able to secure this.”
And as this process begins to take shape, corporate leadership will refocus on political and regime loyalty projects that are more likely to secure investor goodwill and political capital rather than products. See Boeing's Decline as Exhibit A: https://t.co/FhHR3yclMJ
— Vagrant of Rhodes 🗡️🕯️ (@vagrantwires) April 5, 2024
What do you think about Douse's comments on the current state of the video game industry?
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