Layoffs Rumored At Mythic

19Jan/09Off

Layoffs Rumored At Mythic

21 customer service employees, half of QA and all of the playtest group according to Joystiq, which if true would mean that Mythic is not immune to the layoffs coursing through the rest of EA's bloodstream.

All is not lost, though, as the MMO company still finds time to send out hair care gear.

Filed under: Mythic, Recession, _ Comments Off

Comments (23) Trackbacks (1) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

J.
January 19th, 2009 - 20:42

Now is the season when a lot of people get survivor’s guilt.
Mist
January 20th, 2009 - 00:32

It’s obvious that their playtest group wasn’t very useful. But half of QA, that’s gonna hurt.
ixobelle
January 20th, 2009 - 01:40

half of QA and all of playtesting…

lol?
ubvman
January 20th, 2009 - 02:47

Someone at EA realized that Mythic’s “Playtesting” will just be as effective if not better, done completely by paying customers. It looks like a lot of the QA will also be outsourced the customers too! =P

Sorry if its a bit irreverent but WAR’s disappointing performance is readily apparent now – heads are starting to roll.
D-0ne
January 20th, 2009 - 04:47

Hard times, these.
dartwick
January 20th, 2009 - 08:09

Does anyone else think that one of the basic reasons WAR had such marginal success is because the world is to dark and depressing for people to “live there” long term?

I think the average person might enjoy the dark zones, but eventually the world doesnt seem inviting since you only spend time in unpleasant locals. Unlike other games where you adventure in miserable places but you can take break in pretty places.

Its probably not a conscious thought but think its adds up over the months.
Ryan Shwayder
January 20th, 2009 - 08:28

That sucks. I’ve always wished companies were smarted about who they got rid of. Getting rid of one dev or PR person who sucks at his job would make room for 2-3 QA people.

If managers were better at identifying weaknesses in their company, they’d just get rid of them. The problem is, sometimes it’s those managers who are weaknesses, so they can’t identify their own (because their asses are being kissed too well) or fire themselves.
Ryan Shwayder
January 20th, 2009 - 08:28

@Ryan Shwayder
“smarted”

Wow, I’m an idiot.
Gunch
January 20th, 2009 - 08:47

Glad I got out of there when I did.
bonedead
January 20th, 2009 - 08:57

Excuse me Mr. Jennings, sir. I’ve noticed that sometimes on your main page your most recent post will say it has No Comments when in fact it has comments. Thought you might be interested in that there budday.
Scott Jennings
January 20th, 2009 - 09:08

@bonedead

It’s due to the way pages are cached so that the server doesn’t die.
Random Poster
January 20th, 2009 - 09:15

Why is it always QA and Customer Support that gets the axe first? That just seems counter productive if your game has quality issues and your customer support is already lacking.
D-0ne
January 20th, 2009 - 09:33

In American culture, “Quality” produces nothing. “All Quality does is point out the flaws everyone already knows and then whines about getting things fixed.” Of course, that quote is entirely untrue but in America it’s just the way it is.

As far as customer service and online games go, we all know the trend started with, was championed by and proven successful by SOE.
Ashendarei
January 20th, 2009 - 09:40

“21 customer service employees, half of QA and all of the playtest group”

At least it’s not likely to have any negative impact on the game … oh wait.
Abalieno
January 20th, 2009 - 09:55

Mark Jacobs has been answering this with the usual off the mark comments.

To the rumored cut of QA and playtesting he replies with:

Oh, and the whole (OMG, we’re losing 1/2 the developer (or even of the total team) thing) is total nonsense.

When no one has written about losing the whole team or actual developers. He makes up silly accusations and then answers to them.

He says that they have lay-offs that aren’t due to the game’s performance but just because they happen across all EA studios. He can’t give the specifics because he has guidelines. And that he had a team of 400 people at one point, and so it’s still a big team even after the cuts.

Finally:

pretty much every person there has been and will continue to work on WAR for quite a while

Pretty much.
Iconic
January 20th, 2009 - 11:47

@Dartwick:

Yea, within the first 48 hours of beta testing I knew the dark atmosphere was going to be a problem. Maybe not a “this game can’t succeed” problem but definitely a “I will have a hard time playing this, and I know others who will feel the same” problem.

A world doesn’t have to be gumdrops and rainbows, but when it’s less dreary to sit on my porch and watch birds, you’ve got a problem.
Rawrasaur
January 20th, 2009 - 12:03

@Dartwick:

Has that really been a problem for the Diablo series?

–Rawr
bonedead
January 20th, 2009 - 12:28

Diablo is a different beast. You basically create a new world every time you want to play, mobs don’t respawn, oh and everyone that plays Diablo only has 1 thing on their mind: phat lewt.
dartwick
January 20th, 2009 - 13:30

Diablo 1 and 2 (which I loved) are not MMOs. They are not alternate worlds in the same sense as WAR WOW or DAoC.

They are stylistic gothic experiences where you you gamble away time for for a chance at cool items.
Hatch
January 20th, 2009 - 14:18

Hey, I have felt that mythic has been spiraling the drain in terms of quality for years. This shows some truth to that, you cut from the least useful positions. I’m sure there were no salary or position cuts to middle/upper management.
Zuzax
January 20th, 2009 - 15:13

Hatch :I’m sure there were no salary or position cuts to middle/upper management.

Well of course not. Are you aware of the effect such a move has on management retreats? Most of the better resorts are hard to book with a small group.
D-0ne
January 20th, 2009 - 16:27

“I Don’t think the investors give a shit about our quality” – John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts
E3 perspective: An interview with John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts » VentureBeat

VB: No, I’m thinking more of investors and shareholders. Maybe they can’t tell as easily. The stock hasn’t moved in any great directions.
JR: I don’t think the investors give a shit about our quality. They care about our earnings per share. They wait for it to happen. We had three years where we didn’t make our expectations. If I were an investor, I would wait and see. That’s fine with me.

http://www.thisisnotacommunity.org/pivot/entry.php?id=167
EpicSquirt
January 26th, 2009 - 13:25

Mark Jacobs is a legend builder, his words count nothing. They should close Mythic along with Warhammer just to make him shut up.