Take Two Interactive (Rockstar, 2K, Private Division) canceling games, ending projects and laying off 5% of its workforce

[chefsbrian]

1 minute ago, obney kerman said:

You'll never catch me trusting what a company says at face value, granted. But I just think that saying the studio was shut down entirely in the headline was pretty misleading in reference to a situation that nobody seems to know much of anything about at the moment. Just something like "Intercept Games reports layoff of 70 employees" would've been a lot truer to the facts we have right now.

Considering its public knowledge that they had around 60 employees, its not really a material difference, and actually gives a misleading impression in the other direction. But this is a great example of why its important to look into multiple sources and places on things, because the very same facts can be presented in different ways to give different impressions, based on the assumptions and exemptions you want to provide in either direction.

In theory, you could also just expect everyone to stand back and say nothing about it until the fog of defecation clears, but we live in a world with humans on it and patience is not one of our virtues, and speculation is just plain fun.

[Scarecrow71]

In the event that nobody has seen this, released about an hour ago:

Kerbal Space Program 2 Studio Apparently Shuttered Amid Layoffs, Take-Two Responds (msn.com)

[PDCWolf]

6 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

In the event that nobody has seen this, released about an hour ago:

Kerbal Space Program 2 Studio Apparently Shuttered Amid Layoffs, Take-Two Responds (msn.com)

"However, the company revealed that the publisher, Private Division, will provide post-launch support for Kerbal Space Program 2"

If anything, that statements just compels me to say start handling your refunds through Steam support NOW (Rip people who chose epic, your choice is your own downfall). "Support" is not the word you want to hear right now, much less "post-launch". What you want is "continued development". I hope I'm wrong but they'd be choosing the worst way out by hitting the 1.0 button to cement EA money.

Also "In a statement sent to IGN, a Take-Two spokesperson did not explicitly confirm Intercept Games' closure, reiterating that it was not "providing additional details" ". Paint it as you might, that's a yes to IG being dead. There's no adult in this forum with any sort of professional life that doesn't pick it up from the language.

Edited May 1 by PDCWolf

[Icegrx]

@Dakota @Nerdy_Mike @Nate Simpson 

we are waiting…. 

[Skorj]

10 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

In the event that nobody has seen this, released about an hour ago:

Kerbal Space Program 2 Studio Apparently Shuttered Amid Layoffs, Take-Two Responds (msn.com)

Sadly no new information there.   There's recent news that Take2 has said they're not dropping support for KSP2, but that means very little.

We don't know Take2's plans.  Optimistically, the game has been transferred to a new studio (third times the charm).  Realistically, there won't be a studio and bugfixes will be done by some support team. 

[MARL_Mk1]

@Dakota @Nerdy_Mike @Nate Simpson 

It's due time. Provide an explanation.

[Superfluous J]

I love the thought that they're all chock full of information they can legally spill yet were just waiting for someone to tag them and call them out.

"Oh. Sorry I was watching Fallout. Yeah we're boned. Enjoy your weekend."

Edited May 1 by Superfluous J

[Scarecrow71]

Just now, Superfluous J said:

I love the thought that they're all chock full of information they can legally spill yet were just waiting for sometime to tag them and call them out.

While I don't disagree with the sentiment, I think it's just simply a matter of being confused and upset and wanting to get something - anything - from the company at this point.  We have no choice but to wait, but that doesn't stop us all from sitting on the edge of our seats to hear what's going on.  And a lot of people - myself included - are skeptical about communication because it's not only been a while since real communication from the company (Nate's post on Thursday notwithstanding), but this all came out of nowhere abruptly last night with no word from the organization.  And I doubt the company wasn't prepared for this to happen.

Again, I agree with you.  Just hard to wait patiently, you know?

[MARL_Mk1]

2 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

While I don't disagree with the sentiment, I think it's just simply a matter of being confused and upset and wanting to get something - anything - from the company at this point.  We have no choice but to wait, but that doesn't stop us all from sitting on the edge of our seats to hear what's going on.  And a lot of people - myself included - are skeptical about communication because it's not only been a while since real communication from the company (Nate's post on Thursday notwithstanding), but this all came out of nowhere abruptly last night with no word from the organization.  And I doubt the company wasn't prepared for this to happen.

Again, I agree with you.  Just hard to wait patiently, you know?

Matt Lowne said that he was talking with Nate just yesterday and nothing seemed off. Take it as you like, but I think the WARN notice showed up mid night over there, right? Someone correct me if I'm wrong please. But if that's the case, most of them only found out about it in the morning.

[PDCWolf]

Just now, Superfluous J said:

I love the thought that they're all chock full of information they can legally spill yet were just waiting for someone to tag them and call them out.

Well... they know what's happening for sure by this point... and as adults with professional lives we kinda do too. If something happened and they have the order to remain silent then we also know what happened.

I know you're trying to stay optimistic, but you surely can see the contradiction between "we have to wait for them to confirm" and "they legally can't say anything", specially when we know what the second means.

[Xindar]

It would not be the first time that devs learn about bad news from the media. I hope somebody can shed some light into it sooner rather than later

2 minutes ago, MARL_Mk1 said:

Matt Lowne said that he was talking with Nate just yesterday and nothing seemed off. Take it as you like, but I think the WARN notice showed up mid night over there, right? Someone correct me if I'm wrong please. But if that's the case, most of them only found out about it in the morning.

snip

 

[Flush Foot]

4 minutes ago, MARL_Mk1 said:

I think the WARN notice showed up mid night over there, right? Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

Date ON the WARN notice was actually Monday (Apr 29) and forums only started freaking out 'late' on Apr 30, though it is possible that T2 pushed the info to WA.gov on Apr 29 and WA.gov only published it 'late' yesterday.

[Pulstar]

24 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

 And I doubt the company wasn't prepared for this to happen.

In my experience the subsidiaries affected are the least prepared always, these decisions are made at the top (parent company/group HQ) first avoiding the impacted party at all unless it's unavoidable (for instance local HR in a foreign country needs to chime in on labor law regarding severance packages as nobody in regional HQ/parent company has the right knowledge etc.).

As for being prepared for this, not just regarding communication but on the business side... well without knowing what T2 exactly will do (partial layoff, merging with other studio Westwood to EALA style, a full on it's over etc.) it's hard to plan, you cross that bridge when you get there even if rumors are swirling around things might get bad (there are always signs, like more pressure from the parent company on something etc.). You can't plan when you are in the blind, not really. And this is before factoring in the human tendency to hope for the best. IMO a lack of a plan in such cases is the expected thing.

Edited May 1 by Pulstar

[chefsbrian]

13 minutes ago, Superfluous J said:

I love the thought that they're all chock full of information they can legally spill yet were just waiting for someone to tag them and call them out.

"Oh. Sorry I was watching Fallout. Yeah we're boned. Enjoy your weekend."

Clearly, they were stuck in an intense KSP2 multiplayer session, jousting around the moons of Jool.

But in all seriousness, the one I would be pinging would just be Nate. Regardless of what's going on, both in this immediate disaster and the long roll of the game, the CM's only know what they're told for the most part, Nates the one who can actually speak more. And if some fragment of the team did survive to be used to rebuild, the CM's are unfortunately not likely to be among them and so they are probably NDA'd out of being able to say anything at all, even from the outside. Nate and a few of the senior devs would probably be the retained Cadre for a handover if nothing else, assuming that continued updates actually means still developing the game.

[Superfluous J]

14 minutes ago, PDCWolf said:

I know you're trying to stay optimistic

I'm not. Through all of this (like, the past 5 years) all I've tried to stay is confined to known facts.

[Westinghouse]

8 minutes ago, chefsbrian said:

But in all seriousness, the one I would be pinging would just be Nate. Regardless of what's going on, both in this immediate disaster and the long roll of the game, the CM's only know what they're told for the most part, Nates the one who can actually speak more. And if some fragment of the team did survive to be used to rebuild, the CM's are unfortunately not likely to be among them and so they are probably NDA'd out of being able to say anything at all, even from the outside. Nate and a few of the senior devs would probably be the retained Cadre for a handover if nothing else, assuming that continued updates actually means still developing the game.

There's no way Nate or those two CM's are going to say anything without legal approval first. That could take days. The very best those guys can likely have for their futures is some sort of cushy corporate job with Private Division, so it's not at all in their interests to bite the hand that's feeding them.

If you want something somewhat insightful, read Paul Furio's recent posts on LinkedIn. You have to read between the lines a bit, and obviously take everything he has to say with a pinch of salt, but he hints at some of the dysfunction at Intercept Game's leading up to release.

[K^2]

40 minutes ago, MARL_Mk1 said:

@Dakota @Nerdy_Mike @Nate Simpson 

It's due time. Provide an explanation.

You're likely asking from people who no longer work for the company, and cannot answer any questions under their separation agreements even if they wanted to.

5 hours ago, EndeavourCmdr said:

That's not how that works. Here, companies of more than 100 employees are required to give 60 days notice when a major layoff happens.

Yes, that means you continue getting your salary for 60 days. It doesn't mean you keep coming to the office for 60 days. Not only would that be cruel, but companies are too afraid of retaliation. So you're "given a notice" that your position will be terminated in 60 days and sent home on "vacation".

18 hours ago, TickleMyMary said:

Internal discussions would have been had way before they informed the government...

No, there really wouldn't be. If the entire studio got shut down, not even studio heads would be notified. They'd learn just like everyone else, from HR exit interview where they verify their personal e-mail to which severance documents will be sent.

These kinds of layoffs are always handled with the most strict need-to-know. Unless you're staying, and have direct reports that are being let go, you get zero advance notice. And even in the latter case, the only reason you might have a hint is that you were asked to prepare some documents on employee performance, which were likely used to select who's getting cut by people above your paygrade. In this situation, the only people who knew about the closure in advance would be at T2 HQ, and everyone at Intercept would be operating business as usual until yesterday or today.

[Skorj]

10 minutes ago, K^2 said:

 If the entire studio got shut down, not even studio heads would be notified. They'd learn just like everyone else, from HR exit interview where they verify their personal e-mail to which severance documents will be sent.

These kinds of layoffs are always handled with the most strict need-to-know. Unless you're staying, and have direct reports that are being let go, you get zero advance notice. And even in the latter case, the only reason you might have a hint is that you were asked to prepare some documents on employee performance, which were likely used to select who's getting cut by people above your paygrade. In this situation, the only people who knew about the closure in advance would be at T2 HQ, and everyone at Intercept would be operating business as usual until yesterday or today.

Just to confirm from another professional dev: yes, this is how it works.

I remember one particularly cruel layoff, where managers had to tell most members of their teams that they were being layed off (the worst part of the job for anyone not a sociopath), and then those managers found out they were being layed off.  Just brutal.

I really hope the dev team didn't find out from these forums, but that's all too common these days.

Edited May 1 by Skorj

[Scarecrow71]

I just noticed that the Discord Dev Tracker on the home page isn't working/active.  I sincerely hope that it's just me not seeing things there (which it very well could be).

[Xindar]

6 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I just noticed that the Discord Dev Tracker on the home page isn't working/active.  I sincerely hope that it's just me not seeing things there (which it very well could be).

Works for me. Probably an issue on your side of the connection.

[BeastHunter]

9 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I just noticed that the Discord Dev Tracker on the home page isn't working/active.  I sincerely hope that it's just me not seeing things there (which it very well could be).

It’s not just you.

[HighCaliber]

I wouldn't freak out just yet. I would just wait for a response from the devs/CMs instead of panicking and assuming that the game is going away. They probably can't comment on the situation at the moment due to their employee contracts/NDAs - besides, they probably don't know any more than we do. 

Edited May 1 by HighCaliber

[MARL_Mk1]

14 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I just noticed that the Discord Dev Tracker on the home page isn't working/active.  I sincerely hope that it's just me not seeing things there (which it very well could be).

 

4 minutes ago, BeastHunter said:

It’s not just you.

What do you mean by "not working"? Because it shows just fine for me.

[Scarecrow71]

Just now, MARL_Mk1 said:

 

What do you mean by "not working"? Because it shows just fine for me.

The widget exists, but it's not displaying any information.

[Flush Foot]

14 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I just noticed that the Discord Dev Tracker on the home page isn't working/active.  I sincerely hope that it's just me not seeing things there (which it very well could be).

4 minutes ago, BeastHunter said:

It’s not just you.

Just now, MARL_Mk1 said:

 

What do you mean by "not working"? Because it shows just fine for me.

It's working as well as the one in their Discord, which isn't well... last night something from January was suddenly 're-flagged' for no reason I could figure