Layoffs Hit Ballistic Moon Ahead of Until Dawn PS5's October Release

I guess it’s a goodbye to the whole studio, if the game flops, since this had to be done just to keep the lights on?

They saw people's reactions to the $60 price point and saw the low sales future there securing themselves by doing this

I’d assume any potential post-launch bonuses that these employees could have been eligible for are now off the table too. Games would not exist without developers.

So many of these studios hire for projects and then trim down before hiring for the next one? Seems to be a cycle/trade-off you have to get used to if you want to work in the industry.

Not one I'd ever want to work in or raise a family with.

So layoffs can happen
-After you release a bad game
-After you release a good game
-The day you release a game
-Weeks before you release a game

But I mean who could've predicted that?
https://freeimage.host/i/deCcHs2

Morale must be low if this is needed BEFORE the remake gets released.

A sign of low faith in sales?

Working in the industry is a nightmare it seems.

@Deoxyr1bose
But layoffs can't happen if:

• You're in a managerial position and actually responsible for the decisions that led to the financial woes in the first place

Weird 🤔

It just seems like such a pointless remake because the original is still playable, cheap to buy and looks good.
I know they're doing it to tie in with the film they are making, but haven't they only just started filming that? Its a long way off to start generating hype.

Yeah, i dont get this remake. Just a slight remaster with some spit & polish to the visuals, lighting, load times etc, stick it in a white spine case and sell it for £25-30. Its a fair price for a game that already still looks good on ps4.

Probably don't have another game lined up to work on straight away so they are downsizing. This actually happens a lot but it definitely seems like a really ***** industry to be in, especially at the moment.

The Visions of Mana thing should not be a trend, also.

@TrickyDicky99 To be fair, just like The Last of Us Part I this remake is likely aimed at the PC market, with a PS5 version made to placate the fans who would’ve complained otherwise had a console version not been made available. From what I’ve read TLOU Part I has done quite well for Sony since its release, even though many of us have little interest in playing it again (certainly not at full price at least). Hopefully Until Dawn does well for Sony as well, and is releasing at the opportune time around Halloween. I am actually looking forward to this remake but will happily wait until it’s at least 50% off before purchasing.

Just like what happened the other day with Ouka Studios following the release of Visions of Mana, I genuinely feel sorry for these developers who have been let go. The games industry is absolutely ruthless and you have to wonder about its future and long-term sustainability. Why would any aspiring young talent want to enter the industry if they are constantly going to be made redundant at the earliest opportunity?

I wonder if they were reliant / had hopes of being acquired by Playstation if Until Dawn landed well but Sony is not currently in a merger and aquisition phase.

Some downsizing is natural once contractors work is complete on a title, but this sounds more severe than that

The industry is f****d

The annoyance is that there should not be this boom and bust cycle. There should be a constant rotation of games at different stages of development so everyone has always got work to do. I suspect the problem is in how games get investment.

Another video games layoffs.its crazy.its like a energizer battery commercial.it keeps going and going.word up son

@WhiteRabbit well they kinda have neglected them in a way by the price they are charging. If anyone thinks this is going to do well on PS5 they are mistake imo.

For many, it’s hard to spend $60 on a game like this. The God Of Wars, Halos, Uncharteds, etc. will always fly off the shelves. But a niche game like this, or a new IP with a mediocre review score will struggle to sell.

Well they ain't getting my money for a remake that isn't needed. A port of the original would have been better and cheaper.

I will say again that no one asked for this remake! they could of put this team on literally anything else, my heart goes out for those who lost their jobs.

So is this just a graphical upgrade or did they actually add some new content?

I'll probably pick up the remake, as I really enjoyed the original, but I'm waiting to see what has actually been added.

I don't think we know the terms of Ballistic Moon's deal with Sony. For all we know they are working on the Remake for a fixed price with no ongoing royalties. Reads to me like they weren't able to secure their next project or that next project isn't going to give them sufficient cashflow to remain at the same size.

I think a lot are missing that this has nothing to do with Until Dawn. With an imminent release date, they are probably close to done on a lot of aspects. The issue is that independent studios have to pitch their games or tender for work from publishers. If they are unable to secure enough work for their team ahead of their work running out, they can't keep paying them.

We are seeing that right now, across the industry, purse strings are tightening. A lot of independent studios just cant get projects off the ground because no one will fund their work or even outsource work right now. Until Dawn may be amazing but they need new projects to keep a team running at full capacity.

@AhmadSumadi A bit of fun fact. Until Dawn on PS4 managed to sold 4 million copies and i believe the game full price was 60 bucks. 4 million copies which some mainstream & popular games like FF XVI only sold 3 million copies. Other similar games like Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and Detroit Become Human managed to sell between 3 to 5 million copies.

So i don't think adventure game or 'interactive movie' according to some people is that niche.

@astro911 Playstation making a game for the PC market deserves to fail. As far as I can tell, PS5 is not a PC.

Tbf the quote literally says this is after the development. So it’s done and thus you don’t need the full team unless you’ve been commissioned for another game. Sad news for those impacted but I also expect it’s an industry norm that teams scale back when development is done esp if it’s a remake which had no DLC to move on to.

The precedent of layoffs never seems to end. The fact that it can happen anywhere and everywhere across studios of different sizes and scales makes it all the more unpredictable and hard to watch. Sincerely hope those affected at Ballistic Moon are able to land on their feet.

I hope this is not a direct result of my comment "no upgrade path = no buy." I mean, that is true, but I don't want it to be my fault. Layoffs are awful.