What's behind the recent layoffs?

[MacDeath]

Trion has been releasing people from both Rift (last December) and now Defiance. Both of these projects have recently completed major launches and all of the people needed to launch a title are not needed to support Live mode. What would happen at many other companies at a time like this? People would be offered the opportunity to transfer to a new project where their skills would be needed. Trion doesn't have a new project to move them to.

Trion is transitioning from a developer/publisher to a publisher/platform host. IMO, they developed Rift and Defiance as demonstration projects to demo the capability of the Trion platform. Now the demo has completed and the future of Trion is with their Red Door Initiative. See more here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3...Initiative.php

In October, 2011, Trion announced codename Red Door -- both a destination for consumers to connect with online content, and a platform for developers to develop that content on.

At that time, Trion Worlds CEO Lars Buttler said, "The world is changing dramatically, and we see this huge shift in entertainment in media, and I think the shortest way to summarize it from our perspective, everything is transforming into a connected service."

"It has always been the bigger picture that we have never dropped, and now with Rift being very profitable, being a perfect proof of tech, and the other products already being the perfect proof of scalability, and all these different dimensions, we feel now is the time to make that big bold move."

So, IMO, the restructuring we are seeing at Trion isn't based of the success / lack of success of Rift or Defiance or the perceived 'quality' of these games. Trion is restructuring for the next phase and doesn't have a requirement for as many Devs.

[EdgeTW]

1) This didn't need its own thread. There are enough layoff threads already.

2) You need to remove the blinders. You've always been a fan of the game, and that's cool, but you're drifting into that "la la la I can't hear you" territory with this.

[Fiancee]

I think pure PR.. its after all very hard to get yourself heard as new company, but I suppose we know what haeppend to the Trion in the future, future games speak for itself, if they made money or no.

[MacDeath]

I think pure PR.. its after all very hard to get yourself heard as new company, but I suppose we know what haeppend to the Trion in the future, future games speak for itself, if they made money or no.

Yep, time will tell. We're all just guessing atm.

[Fiancee]

Ive seen basically enough Ive said this to Trion before, theres Trion's size path in the game industry, just push forward. Can you imagine MMO genre without Rift or Defiance? We should now all just wait Elder Scroll Online and Titan?

[XGC Cipher]

then explain why their are several new job openings within the defiance team
http://trionworlds.com/en/careers/

Trion actually has 2 other project's they're working on that i know of your post seems to have nothing backing it up

[MacDeath]

then explain why their are several new job openings within the defiance team
http://trionworlds.com/en/careers/

Trion actually has 2 other project's they're working on that i know of your post seems to have nothing backing it up

Trion isn't being closed, nor are Rift and Defiance being shut down. Of course they still need to hire for some positions, they just don't need all the people going forward that were needed prior to launch.

Which two projects? EoN? It was developed by Petrogylph. ArcheAge? Developed by a Korean company. EoN and ArcheAge are examples of Trion's new focus.

[XGC Cipher]

never said trion was being closed but all the people that are supposedly not needed after launch as you say are in fact let go or reassigned before or the day of launch (sources my friend is qa at EA's NATC, brother was QA for activation, and CS for Funcom, or my brothers friend who works for ubisoft) they're not left on the project for a month and a half if they are , trion is the first company i've heard of pissing away money to do that, these weren't lay offs of qa staff and testers these were people who were supposed to fix the game, couldn't deliver and were replaced

[Schwa]

Pretty much all of the deficiencies of Defiance (from competitive multiplayer to QA to graphics to web to security) are expressed in the job openings for that studio. This isn't merely a transition to publishing (why hire replacements?), this was a purge. Hello, Director and Senior positions.

There's likely more positions open than what is listed. This is the "big stuff" they want everyone to fight over.

Several of these postings showed up within the last few days. Competitive multiplayer was open longer, along with security if I recall correctly.

[MacDeath]

never said trion was being closed but all the people that are supposedly not needed after launch as you say are in fact let go or reassigned before or the day of launch (sources my friend is qa at EA's NATC, brother was QA for activation, and CS for Funcom, or my brothers friend who works for ubisoft) they're not left on the project for a month and a half if they are , trion is the first company i've heard of pissing away money to do that, these weren't lay offs of qa staff and testers these were people who were supposed to fix the game, couldn't deliver and were replaced

IMO, the people who just received their 60 day notices on Friday are NOT being replaced. They weren't RIFed earlier because their still needed to get the game stable, somrthing that usually happens within a week or 2 of launch. Defiance isn't stable yet (probably because shortcuts were taken to meet the launch schedule required for the TV series premiere).