Tag: Employment - Page 3
Rumour PopCap Games Struck By International Layoffs
Hmm
It looks like yesterday’s hastily prepared Plants vs. Zombies 2 announcement may have been cover for some more sinister happenings at PopCap Games. The Bejeweled developer has been struck by a series of international layoffs, according to comments made by Duke Nukem creator George Broussard. Apparently, the company's entire Dublin studio has...
News Former Irrational Games Art Director Joins Naughty Dog
Wishing you Wells
BioShock Infinite art director Nate Wells may have only just departed Irrational Games, but he’s already landed himself a new gig at award winning Uncharted developer Naughty Dog. Wells announced the news on Twitter overnight, but didn’t offer any specific details. It’s unclear whether he’ll be working on The Last of Us, or...
News Former Crysis 2 Writer Working for Guerrilla Games
New blood
Story has never been Killzone’s strongest asset. Despite the magnificent lore surrounding the series, developer Guerrilla Games has yet to really take advantage of it. Hopefully, new recruit Martin Lancaster can do a better job. The former Crysis 2 writer has updated his personal resume, citing an unannounced Guerrilla Games title as...
News Konami Opens New PES Studio in London
Cultural excursion
Pro Evolution Soccer is locked in a fierce battle with FIFA. Despite dominating the PS2 era, Konami’s once-world beating soccer sim has struggled against the new-found enthusiasm of EA’s franchise. But the Japanese publisher is eager to topple its closest competitor – and one way it hopes to achieve that is by opening a new...
News David Perry Pushing for Core Focus with PlayStation 4
Lip service
When Sony acquired cloud gaming service Gaikai for $380 million earlier this month, it also picked up a rather valuable asset in the form of the company’s founder David Perry. The industry legend (who had a hand in creating the original Earthworm Jim) is now a PlayStation employee – and he’s already looking to making an impact on...
News Radical Entertainment Reduced to "Support" Role at Activision
Staff cuts
Radical Entertainment is the latest developer to fall foul to Activision’s high expectations. The developer – which recently released the middling Prototype 2 – has been dropped to a support role after a significant reduction in staff. Activision explained that it had explored “various options for the studio, including a...
News Media Molecule Recruiting for New "AAA Title"
The next big thing
LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule is staffing up for a new “AAA title". The UK-based studio has been alarmingly quiet ever since the release of LittleBigPlanet 2 last year, but it looks like the inventive team is starting to seriously consider the future. There’s some conflicting information amongst the multiple job...
News James Mielke Departs Lumines Developer for PixelJunk Studio
All change
Former 1UP writer James Mielke has departed Lumines developer Q Entertainment, and, in a twist that you almost certainly couldn’t make up, has announced his arrival at PixelJunk studio Q Games. He’ll serve as a producer on an unannounced project. Speaking with CVG, Mielke paid tribute to his former employer Tetsuya Mizuguchi:...
News Crystal Dynamics Staffing Up for Next Generation Project
Thinking ahead
Crystal Dynamics is recruiting for a “cutting edge, original IP for future platforms”. The mysterious title is described as a “third-person action adventure”. Previous rumours had hinted that the Californian studio was a working on a Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver reboot, but that doesn’t quite line up with the scant details...
News Slant Six Slashes Workforce By 25%
Rotten news
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City developer Slant Six has been forced to cull its workforce by about 25%. However, the studio hopes to rehire those affected employees in the coming months. Speaking with GameInformer magazine, a company spokesperson said: Regretfully, we can confirm that there have been some temporary layoffs at...
News Richard Lemarchand Leaves Naughty Dog
Takes teaching role
Naughty Dog’s lead game designer Richard Lemarchand has exited the company in order to accept a position at the University of Southern California. The Uncharted man – who played a pivotal part in the franchise’s rise to success – will join the school’s Interactive Media Division. Previous students include...
News God of War Developer Hiring for New Shooter IP
Another one?
God of War: Ascension may be Sony Santa Monica’s current top priority, but that’s not stopping the studio from staffing up for a new IP. According to a job listing on Gamasutra, the studio is on the lookout for a senior combat designer to help work on an unannounced project. The advertisement asks for experience on both first-person...
News Sony Confirms Zipper Interactive Has Closed
Zipped up
SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive has closed, Sony has confirmed. Speculation about the studio’s imminent demise began last weekend, but the firm remained tight-lipped for the majority of the week. However, Sony confirmed the sad news in a statement to Game Informer over night: Sony Computer Entertainment can confirm the closure of...
News Robin Hunicke Latest to Leave thatgamecompany
Fond farewell
Journey developer thatgamecompany is a small studio, so it’s surprising when key members of the team announce their departure for pastures new. Yesterday co-founder Kellee Santiago revealed her intention to move on, and since producer Robin Hunicke has also shut the door behind her. Hunicke – who joined thatgamecompany at the...
News Call of Duty Creative Strategist Robert Bowling Exits Activision
Four zero two
Robert Bowling has announced that he has resigned from his current position as creative strategist of Call of Duty. The hype-man – who has become the face of the biggest gaming brand in the world over the past few years – announced his departure on Twitter overnight. He said: Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist...
News Cory Barlog Joins Crystal Dynamics
New horizons
Former God of War director, Cory Barlog, has joined Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics after exiting Just Cause studio Avalanche Games. Barlog, who left Sony Santa Monica after the completion of God of War II, was thought to be fronting a Mad Max title at the studio. It’s unclear whether Barlog will slot into the Tomb Raider team,...
News Yakuza Creator Named Chief Creative Officer at SEGA
No Nagoshiation
Toshihiro Nagoshi’s hard work on the Yakuza franchise has not gone unnoticed: SEGA’s announced this morning that the Yakuza Studio boss has been promoted to the role of Chief Creative Officer at the publisher. The change comes as part of a wider corporate shuffle at the company, caused by the impending retirement of SEGA Chief...
News Rockstar San Diego is Staffing Up For New Open-World Game
Yeehaw?
Few would argue if we said that Red Dead Redemption was one of the best games on the PlayStation 3. No doubt there’d be a couple of contrarians complaining about the game’s shoddy middle-third, but aside from a few fleeting flaws the title is a showpiece for open-world game design. So it goes without saying that we’re excited to learn...
News THQ Cuts 240 Jobs, Slashes Salaries
The bad news doesn't stop for troubled publisher THQ
Following a slew of rumours yesterday, and warnings that the company might be delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange, the company has announced that it has cut a whopping 240 jobs. According to a regulatory filing, the redundancies will go into effect before September, with the vast majority to...
News US PlayStation Network Executive Leaves Sony
Susan Panico, the former US gaffer of the PlayStation Network, has exited Sony according to reports on Venture Beat
Communications director, Patrick Seybold, has since confirmed the news, wishing his former colleague all the best. No reason was given for the departure. It's unknown who will take over Panico's role. Whoever it is will need a strong...
News SEGA's Solihull Studio Named Hardlight, Working On PlayStation Vita Exclusive
Cast your minds back to June 2011
Back then, SEGA's European development gaffer, Gary Dunn, revealed that the publisher had established a brand new development team in Solihull, Birmingham. (That's just up the road from us: hey guys!) That studio now has a name: Hardlight. The identity was revealed by an eagle-eyed NeoGAF poster who spotted a...
News THQ Denies Cancellation Rumours, Looking To The Future
Yesterday, a slew of Tweets by IGDA Mobile SIG chair Kevin Dent alleged that THQ was in grave financial trouble, and that it was cancelling the entirety of its 2014 game line-up while holding out hope for a potential buyer
The rumours were not true. VG247 reached out to THQ's Australian branch — presumably the only one awake at the time — who...
News Assassin's Creed: Revelations' Creative Director Leaves Ubisoft
Ubisoft must be getting a taste for what it feels like to lose a creative director
Just two years after the departure of series creator Patrice Desilets in 2010, Assassin's Creed: Revelations' creative director Alexandre Amancio has left Ubisoft Montreal in order to pursue a career at Canadian marketing firm, Cossette. Amancio has been an employee...
News Sony Denies Kaz Hirai Promotion Reports, Says 'Nothing Has Been Determined'
Sony's affable executive, Kaz Hirai, might be around for a few more rounds of Ridge Racer just yet
Following reports that the cheery gaffer had been promoted to presidential status, the Japanese company has released a statement refuting the claims — stating that "nothing has been determined at this time". Given the comment's wording —...
News Andrew House Reflects On PlayStation's Tough 2011
Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment's new gaffer, has admitted that 2011 was a rough year for the electronics manufacturer
In an interview with The Guardian, House admitted that the hacking incident and Japanese earthquake took its toll on the company — but also resulted in a strong sense of unity between employees. "Yes, it has been a...
Report Kazuo Hirai To Be Named President Of Sony In April
Ridge Racer's biggest fan set to become the President of Sony
It's claimed that Howard Stringer will maintain his position as the company's CEO and chairman, but that Hirai will take over presidential duties as soon as April. Hirai — who made his name rising through the ranks of the PlayStation business — is currently Executive Deputy President...
Report The Sun Sets On EA's Bright Light Studio
EA's Bright Light studio is officially no more
The developer — which was responsible for three of the most recent Harry Potter titles — has been going through a formal consultation process since October. That period is now over, and the developer has closed. Thankfully, many of the employees from the Bright Light studio have been ushered into...
News THQ Lays Off 30 Employees From Its uDraw Team
Following less than stellar sales for uDraw on PlayStation 3 (did you know it had even released?), THQ has announced that it has laid off 30 employees from its Play branch
THQ justified the layoffs by reiterating the "weaker than expected" sales performance of the drawing application, which launched on PS3 last month. Due to weaker than...
News Square Enix Releases Concept Art For Its Unreal Engine Project
The above image is a piece of concept art from Square Enix's upcoming Unreal Engine project
You're going to have to imagine the texture pop-in and inconsistent frame-rate for yourself. Squint and its possible. The concept art emerged as part of an employment hub for the recently revealed "massive, original action RPG", where Square Enix is...
Report Scott Steinberg And Rob Dyer Leave Sony
Seems like there's some major reshuffling going on at SCEA at the moment
With Peter Dille's office barely cold after his departure earlier in the year, Sony's lost another two executives according a report published by Industry Gamers. The site claims that VP of marketing, Scott Steinberg, and senior VP of public relations, Rob Dyer, are both no...
News More Than 40 Staffers Dropped From 2K Czech
Two studios under the 2K Czech banner have been hit by a redundancy initiative, according to information obtained by Develop Online
According to the website more than 40 of the developer's staff has been cut from its studio at Brno, with "less than ten" cut from its Prague studio too. Before the redundancies, 2K Czech had a work force of...
