'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered' Co-Developer Announces Mass Layoffs, French Employees Reportedly Organizing A Strike
The co-developer of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Δ announced they plan to layoff around 7% of its entire workforce.
This official confirmation came following a report from French reporter Gauthier ‘Gautoz’ Andres who reported on BlueSky, “Mass layoffs are underway at Virtuos, the studio behind Oblivion Remastered and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Δ. 300 positions (7% of the workforce) are at risk at this outsourcing specialist located in Asia, the USA, and Europe, including three branches in France.”
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He went on to share that the initial part of the layoffs will affect around 200 people in the company’s locations in China, but will also affect the French team that worked on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.
After revealing these layoffs are allegedly being done in order to stay competitive and that employees were informed in February that the company had put a freeze on raises and a reduction in bonuses, and that the risk of layoffs was minimal at the time, he noted that employees at the company’s office in Lyon has organized a strike to “protest these layoffs” and “protect the future capacity of this branch, which is already grappling with the centralization/merger of French studio management.”
Andres’ claim about the layoffs was confirmed in a blog post by Virtuos where it shared, “Approximately 7% of Virtuos’ global workforce was affected, primarily in teams facing lower occupancy and slower demand due to structural shifts in the industry. This includes about 200 roles in Asia and 70 roles in Europe, including fewer than 10 in France, where the core team working on Oblivion Remastered is located.”
The company explained that it was conducting these layoffs “to meet the changing needs of our partners and the industry. As game development grows increasingly complex, we are realigning our global footprint and capabilities to strengthen our offering in high-value co-development, ranging from full game engineering to advanced art, including creative content production and live services.”
Finally, the company also shared, “Virtuos remains fully committed to all our partnerships, including ongoing work on announced titles such as Oblivion Remastered, Cyberpunk 2077, and Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater. We will continue to invest in global delivery, technical excellence, and creative collaboration, ensuring that Virtuos remains the partner of choice for the world’s leading game creators.”
What do you make of Virtuos laying off 7% of its global workforce?
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Video games are kind of like film making in the sense that workers go from project to project. A game studio that focuses on one type of game in one type of genre will usually be able to have staff retention. From what I have seen and heard about video game development, video game studios tend to staff up as a project nears completion. Without another project lined up and if some of the staff is unsuited to a certain type of game, layoffs are inevitable in my opinion.
I don't like talented people that care more about games and delivering a great experience over ideology losing their jobs, but the SJWs can get rekt.
Anything remastered is just prettied up and then the females uglified, the aesthetics recolored in "bisexual lighting," and the storyline goosed to provide some pro-LGBTQ+123456PASSWORD propaganda - usually body types and pronouns with a smattering of content changes to push gender-journeys.
I don't buy remasters. Wouldn't waste my money.
How much gay and trans are >you< willing to accept for prettier graphics?