Virtuos, Major Game Developer, Announces Layoffs

Sure, I’ll give it a shot:

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So, here’s a weird tidbit — Virtuos, this huge co-dev company, is doing layoffs. I first heard it from this French journo, Gauthier Andres. He dropped it on BlueSky, and I’m like, “Wait, what?” So, they’re letting go of about 300 folks. That’s like seven percent or something.

Virtuos confirmed it later, which, not gonna lie, I kind of saw coming. Around 200 jobs are being axed in Asia. Europe isn’t spared either, with about 70 positions gone. France? Less than ten, which is oddly specific.

The scoop is they’re making these cuts to, you know, fit “industry needs” or whatever. The official line is about game development craziness and how they want to pivot — or realign, I think the word was — their global something-or-other. Basically, they’re focusing on stuff like full game engineering and some artsy things.

What’s kind of nice, though, is they’re offering separation pay and job search help. Not sure how far that goes, but still.

Virtuos is pretty famous for stuff like The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered — came out this year, I think? And they’re working on Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which sounds intense. Oh, and Dune: Awakening, Cyberpunk 2077, Sea of Thieves — feels like they’re everywhere.

Oh, right. Context! Big tech is having a similar meltdown. Microsoft did four layoff rounds in 18 months. So, yeah, Virtuos isn’t alone in this weird, bumpy ride.