Unconfirmed: More Layoffs at WotC

[DaveMage]

What's the long-term strategy then?

Maximize profit.

 

[wedgeski]

I've been pretty skeptical of claims that the D&D division of WotC is entering a TSR-like death spiral, but if they really do have layoffs every December (and sometimes an extra round in the summer!)... then either the person running the D&D line is utterly incompetent, or they know D&D as a profit-making enterprise is doomed and they're just trying to keep it going as long as they can out of love for the game.

It's been going on like this for a long time, back to early 3E and 3.5 days. It's just the way they roll over there.

 

[MortonStromgal]

There's also option 3: the expectations of the parent company exceed the earning potential of a particular brand. Niche, specialized games, even when it's the biggest ones in its category, isn't enough to justify the expenses to a large corporation. Put the same game in the hands of a smaller gaming company, one that is used to running on a tight budget, and it would seem to them like money was raining down on them, even with the number of employees WotC has.

/Agree

Lets be honest they bought WOTC for Pokemon, which then underperformed. I wouldn't be surprised if expectations are far to high.

 

[davethegame]

Of course, Chris Sims will likely get called on the carpet for leaking the info and it'll be weeks before more of this is known but at corporations with this built into the nusiness model these usually come in bunches not in ones and twos.

Huh? "Called on the carpet" by who?

 

[CleverNickName]

Wow...sorry, guys. It sucks to be between jobs, whether it's voluntary or not. I wish you the best, and hope you guys get back into a new routine soon.

Layoffs always make me worry about a company, even if they are part of the "business model." It's such a messy, painful way to do business.

 

[ggroy]

Of course, Chris Sims will likely get called on the carpet for leaking the info

Chris Sims was canned back in the xmas 2009 layoffs.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...offs-rob-heinsoo-logan-bonner-chris-sims.html

 

[wedgeski]

Seriously? That's their business model--to shrink the business year by year? What's the long-term strategy then? Do they expect to revive the product with 5E or just let it wither away altogether?

You need far fewer people to maintain an edition than you do to create it in the first place. It's probably as simple as that.

 

[Mark]

Seriously? That's their business model--to shrink the business year by year? What's the long-term strategy then?

Cull the herd to keep salaries down and pick up fresh meat when gearing up for a new edition from among the best and brightest in the industry while keeping a few old hands on to smooth the transition. Easier to do in the days when WotC supported the OGL and they could easily spot the odd Mearls or two. There will always be young turks willing to pack up their lives and move cross country to work in the big show, even if it only means for a year or two with constant job insecurity. I'm sure a lot of the staff was expecting the X-Mas layoffs (and these new losses) after the brand manager switch that herladed, in house, the run up to the "Essentials" revision of this edition. Things always get spun with the air of stability but the cycles are easier to read if you ignore the verbal spin that accompanies it.

 

[Mark]

Huh? "Called on the carpet" by who?

Chris Sims was canned back in the xmas 2009 layoffs.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...offs-rob-heinsoo-logan-bonner-chris-sims.html

Oh, that's right. Poor fellow. I hope he has landed on his feet. Well, maybe that means the pipeline for more information won't be as easy to squelch. We'll have to see if his source remains fluid.

 

[Dausuul]

Cull the herd to keep salaries down and pick up fresh meat when gearing up for a new edition from among the best and brightest in the industry while keeping a few old hands on to smooth the transition. Easier to do in the days when WotC supported the OGL and they could easily spot the odd Mearls or two. There will always be young turks willing to pack up their lives and move cross country to work in the big show, even if it only means for a year or two with constant job insecurity. I'm sure a lot of the staff was expecting the X-Mas layoffs (and these new losses) after the brand manager switch that herladed, in house, the run up to the "Essentials" revision of this edition. Things always get spun with the air of stability but the cycles are easier to read if you ignore the verbal spin that accompanies it.

Yeesh. Well, I guess some companies roll that way, and WotC has enough starry-eyed gamers eager to design games for a living (and no real competition in their tiny niche market) that they'll never lack for "fresh meat." Still, I maintain that a company which adopts such strategies is a company with problems. Good, experienced people should be worth higher salaries, and creative folks are seldom at their best when working in an atmosphere of dread.

If it were just laying off a bunch of folks once the new edition was up to speed, that'd be one thing, but "ramping down" from an edition change should be a one-time event (or once per edition), not a fresh round of layoffs every year.