Project Sigil 90% Of D&D’s Project Sigil Team Laid Off

Reports are coming in of a swathe of layoffs at Wizards of the Coast, constituting 90% of the team of the new Project Sigil virtual tabletop platform. In all, over 30 people have been laid off, leaving a team of around 3 people.

Sigil is still in beta, only recently made public three weeks ago. Recent reports indicated that the scope of the project was seemingly being cut back.

WotC’s Andy Collins—who has worked on multiple editions of D&D and other WotC TTRPGs going back to 1996—reported via LinkedIn that he was one of those laid off. He indicated that the small team left behind would continue to work on the project.

More news as it comes in.

 

[Kurotowa]

Many people told Gary Gygax that D&D would have low interest. (e.g. Avalon Hill).

Indeed. While I feel for the people that are out of a job, nothing in this sequence of events feels unreasonable. Wizards took a chance on a new business venture. Well and good, it'd be bad if they didn't try to innovate or leverage their market leader status. That business venture seems to have flopped, and rather then throw good money after bad they wrote off the sunk cost and ended it. Also well and good, perfectly normal business decision.

Should they have never tried in the first place? Easy to say so now with hindsight, but tell that to the people clamoring for this or that niche setting product. Should they have kept supporting it in the hope that players would come around? Also easy to say when you're not the one signing checks for millions of dollars to fund a failing project.

To quote a dead webcomic, "We try things. Sometimes they work." It's necessary to try things with an uncertain result, and it's also necessary to recognize when something has failed and move on to the next thing.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

Why release it at all if they're just going to shut it down?

I'm wondering this myself but then it also explains why they released it when it was glitchy, poorly documented, and obviously nowhere near ready to be used by anyone who wasn't already a master at using similar VTT's.

The release seemed to go really poorly (at least from what I could tell) because it wasn't ready, but then if they were planning to cancel it anyways then I guess it makes sense to go ahead and throw it out there and see if people get excited enough to change course and salvage it

 

[darjr]

Many people told Gary Gygax that D&D would have low interest. (e.g. Avalon Hill).

Cmon. That’s not nearly the same. D&D was a game changer, literally, the 3D vtt was an also ran.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

It's hard to get excited about yet another unfinished DDB project.

 

[Hussar]

Cmon. That’s not nearly the same. D&D was a game changer, literally, the 3D vtt was an also ran.

In hindsight, sure.

 

[darjr]

In hindsight, sure.

no, not in hindsight.

This is what? The THIRD attempt?

It's like hiring a forumula 1 racing design team to compete in soap box derby and depding upon race winnings to pay for it.

This time for the third time.

WotC has hit this wall before, eventually someone realizes that gravity is real and is forced to cut their losses and expenses.

 

[TerraDave]

no, not in hindsight.

This is what? The THIRD attempt?

It's like hiring a forumula 1 racing design team to compete in soap box derby and depding upon race winnings to pay for it.

This time for the third time.

WotC has hit this wall before, eventually someone realizes that gravity is real and is forced to cut their losses and expenses.

So with 4e it was also a 3d tabletop (without as high a resolution as Sigil).

They also planned something for 3e, which ended up as e-tools?

 

[Hussar]

no, not in hindsight.

This is what? The THIRD attempt?

It's like hiring a forumula 1 racing design team to compete in soap box derby and depding upon race winnings to pay for it.

This time for the third time.

WotC has hit this wall before, eventually someone realizes that gravity is real and is forced to cut their losses and expenses.

Well, kinda. After all, the map tool seems to be doing quite well. But, yeah, the point is taken.

But, on the other hand, VTT's like Talespire are doing quite well. So, it's not impossible to do. Just seems that WotC hasn't figured out how to do it.

 

[Nadan]

Or, as you say, not that many people had the hardware to run the thing. If you're going to require a near-top-of-the-line gaming rig to run the thing, you shouldn't be surprised that your audience is small.

My gaming rig can run smoothly with newly released games but it stuggled with Project Sigil. It has some serious optimization problem that kill my urge to use it after tried for 10 min.

 

[pyreluck]

Can't say it comes as much of a shock.