Take-Two going through layoffs, Private Division and other labels affected

[fragtzack]

Oh no, sad to see layoffs. I want them to make KSP2 a great game. I went and read more details on, sounds like development aspects of Private Division should not be affected. 

Still a bummer to see anyone lose their job, but is good to see that development should not be affected. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by fragtzack

[Periple]

Cuts at Private Division. This isn't good. 

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/take-two-cuts-jobs-at-private-division

[The Aziz]

" primarily in corporate operations and label publishing, which will better align our organization with our long-term priorities"

I say that's very good. Probably meaning better management is upon us.

[fragtzack]

IMHO, Private Division took KSP2 to public early access about 6 months too early. 

I am still a fan and rooting for the dev team to get this train on the rails.

 

[pandaman]

Never good to see people lose their jobs (well, unless they got caught stealing etc).

This kind of stuff happens in all industries all the time (reshuffles, streamlining etc) so in itself I don't think it's anything to worry about as far as KSP2  is concerned.

[Periple]

19 minutes ago, The Aziz said:

I say that's very good. Probably meaning better management is upon us.

It means there's a cash crunch/belt-tightening going on. That sucks for all kinds of reasons, it's like throwing sand into the machine. Plus it's miserable.

[Chilkoot]

11 minutes ago, fragtzack said:

IMHO, Private Division took KSP2 to public early access about 6 months too early. 

It's a fair assumption that there will be some very significant changes at Private Division following the layoffs today.  Whoever green-lit this release and also the new Outer Worlds release (currently at 12% positive on Steam) will be walked out, and a new developer oversight group will be put in place.

I hope the axe stops there and doesn't hit Intercept.   One of the more interesting parts of this KSP 2 journey has been watching Nate evolve from dorky dev and Kerbal fan to a more grizzled and mindful leader.  He is much more precise and cautious in his public interviews, you can see him catch himself when he is about to "promise" or reveal anything.  I'd hate to see him thrown under the bus, though undoubtedly some of the lambasting of KSP 2 is on him.

[regex]

14 minutes ago, Periple said:

Plus it's miserable.

for morale, yeah. Even if it's not you, it could be you.

[Casellina X]

18 minutes ago, Chilkoot said:

It's a fair assumption that there will be some very significant changes at Private Division following the layoffs today.  Whoever green-lit this release and also the new Outer Worlds release (currently at 12% positive on Steam) will be walked out, and a new developer oversight group will be put in place

My cynical take on this, working at a company that near constantly restructures internally, is that some middle managers will get the axe and their work and direct reports will be shoveled under some other middle manager. Pressure will come from up top to "deliver value" quickly, so the product owners and project managers will squeeze development teams for higher velocity per sprint (assuming Scrum/Agile). The people who do the grunt work will grimace and attempt to deliver, ultimately falling short of extremely unreasonable expectations, more blame will follow, the cycle begins anew. Meanwhile Discord/Reddit/Forum users will decry the developers ability to deliver on real or perceived promises, ignorant of the diligent work going on behind the scenes, and behave as if the sky is falling.

I feel for the faces of the community like Nate and Dakota because they wind up as direct targets of the outrage machine. I also feel for the nameless, faceless folks who have to do the heavy lifting because the load very rarely lightens.

[Nerdy_Mike]

In light of recent news, we at Intercept Games want to assure the community that KSP2's development is continuing as planned and we will continue to provide updates about the game throughout the coming weeks and months. Our first patch is scheduled to be released shortly and we will have more information on that in the coming days. 

[J.Random]

[Stoup]

Good to hear Mike! Thanks for the update

[Chilkoot]

7 minutes ago, Nerdy_Mike said:

In light of recent news, we at Intercept Games want to assure the community that KSP2's development is continuing as planned and we will continue to provide updates about the game throughout the coming weeks and months.

I hope you guys are unaffected by the cuts, Mike.  Sure, there are some "elevated emotions" over bugs right now, but no-one wants to see people losing their jobs.

[Dakota]

1 minute ago, Chilkoot said:

I hope you guys are unaffected by the cuts, Mike.  Sure, there are some "elevated emotions" over bugs right now, but no-one wants to see people losing their jobs.

None of us on the community team were affected.

[J.Random]

[snip]
that's a qualified response if I ever saw any.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Starhawk
Redacted by moderator

[Monger]

Yeah, that ain't good. 

[Fluke]

13 minutes ago, Dakota said:

None of us on the community team were affected.

"Community team" oddly specific, eeek 

[The Aziz]

19 minutes ago, J.Random said:

You mean

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

28 minutes ago, Nerdy_Mike said:

Our first patch is scheduled to be released shortly and we will have more information on that in the coming days. 

Excellent, Smithers

[Chilkoot]

3 minutes ago, Fluke said:

"Community team" oddly specific, eeek

I could be mistaken, but I believe the community team is under Private Division, so the message here is that the announced PD layoffs didn't hit the PD community folks.

(There's been no specific announcements about layoffs at Intercept).

[Vl3d]

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Results for Fiscal Third Quarter 2023

February 6, 2023

Cost Reduction Program In light of the current backdrop and Take-Two’s strong commitment to efficiency, the Company is implementing a cost reduction program expected to yield over $50 million of annual savings, which it will begin to realize in the fourth quarter of its Fiscal Year 2023. The program includes personnel, processes, infrastructure, and other areas, and will primarily focus on corporate and publishing functions. This cost reduction program is in addition to the over $100 million of cost synergies the Company expects to realize from its combination with Zynga, and is not expected to impact the delivery of its robust multi-year pipeline. Take-Two believes these actions, combined with its focus on profitably growing its scale, will enable the Company to maximize its margins as it delivers on its anticipated growth trajectory over the next few years.

https://ir.take2games.com/node/29371/pdf

It was announced a month ago.

[Moons]

1 hour ago, Nerdy_Mike said:

In light of recent news, we at Intercept Games want to assure the community that KSP2's development is continuing as planned and we will continue to provide updates about the game throughout the coming weeks and months. Our first patch is scheduled to be released shortly and we will have more information on that in the coming days. 

Just to be perfectly clear - weeks and months? I hope you mean years - since i doubt months is a timeframe in which this game wil realistically be the game presented with the roadmap? Is funding for KSP2 secured for the time it will probably take to finish the game - i doubt that will be less than 1-2 years?

 

Im seriously more and more worried. I was already somewhat alarmed by how the release happened since it made no sense to me if everything was fine to release a game in this state and not just delay it and not only that but also at a completely absurd price - so i was wondering if the EA release actually would be some sort of indicator if the development is still worth it etc. (why else damage your own brand knowingly releasing a rather early build at the price of an AAA game?). I was also alarmed by the fact that a publisher funded game went EA in the first place instead of pre-order with beta-access etc. - which would have guaranteed customers that they will actually get a product. Im really getting worried that this EA release actually affects funding and decisions regarding KSP2s future ...

 

Obviously i lack any information so i would really like some more official statements to reaffirm that everything is okay.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Moons

[DadJokeCinema]

1 hour ago, Nerdy_Mike said:

In light of recent news, we at Intercept Games want to assure the community that KSP2's development is continuing as planned and we will continue to provide updates about the game throughout the coming weeks and months. Our first patch is scheduled to be released shortly and we will have more information on that in the coming days. 

Hey Mike, I just wanted to say that I hope nobody at Intercept is impacted and that everyone is taking the appropriate time for mental health and pausing to breathe every now and then. I've been on high stress projects during workforce reductions and it's not fun or good for the brain.

[Nerdy_Mike]

29 minutes ago, Moons said:

Just to be perfectly clear - weeks and months? I hope you mean years - since i doubt months is a timeframe in which this game wil realistically be the game presented with the roadmap? Is funding for KSP2 secured for the time it will probably take to finish the game - i doubt that will be less than 1-2 years?

 

Im seriously more and more worried. I was already somewhat alarmed by how the release happened since it made no sense to me if everything was fine to release a game in this state and not just delay it and not only that but also at a completely absurd price - so i was wondering if the EA release actually would be some sort of indicator if the development is still worth it etc. (why else damage your own brand knowingly releasing a rather early build at the price of an AAA game?). I was also alarmed by the fact that a publisher funded game went EA in the first place instead of pre-order with beta-access etc. - which would have guaranteed customers that they will actually get a product. Im really getting worried that this EA release actually affects funding and decisions regarding KSP2s future ...

 

Obviously i lack any information so i would really like some more official statements to reaffirm that everything is okay.

How much more official of a statement can I give you? Everything is "okay" and we are tracking to deliver the full game that was promised. You'll see more information from me and the rest of the tea, in the future.

On that note the future is very bright for KSP2 and I can't wait until everyone sees the work / progress we're making here at Intercept.

[Moons]

7 minutes ago, Nerdy_Mike said:

How much more official of a statement can I give you? Everything is "okay" and we are tracking to deliver the full game that was promised. You'll see more information from me and the rest of the tea, in the future.

On that note the future is very bright for KSP2 and I can't wait until everyone sees the work / progress we're making here at Intercept.

I get that - still you probably also understand that we want as much information as possible but it makes sense that you probably cant give us that.

 

Since i made another thread and im not sure if anyone will respond officially - i was wondering could you tell us if the EA version is the most recent version you have yourself or just a cut down stable version? It would be nice to know that the build in development is further ahead when it comes to features.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Moons