See the video here.
Layoffs hit game development industry
August 20th, 2008
The city of Austin ranks second in the nation in the video game development industry; however, some are now worried that ranking could falter in the light of a rash of recent layoffs.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks of layoffs for Austinites working in the game development industry. The biggest cuts were at Midway Studios, where close to 100 people were let go.
Transcript:
KVUE’s Shelton Green: Of the 130 Midway Studios employees, only 30 of them are still working here. Some of the folks who were laid off are telling us that they’re counting on finding other jobs in the same industry right here in Austin.
[What looks like any other happy hour crowd at Opan Divine's
(if Opal Divine's ever had any other happy hour crowd)]
KVUE: What may look like any other happy hour crowd at Opal Divine’s North is anything but.
Mark Richards, “Resigned from Midway Studios”: We’ve had a bad couple weeks here in Austin, so we thought it’d be a good chance to just come out and drink. Uh. Hang out. Not really do anything heavy handed.
KVUE: Local video game developers are having a social Wednesday evening. It’s a time and place for those who create games to come and mingle.
KVUE: For some of them networking is more important now than ever before.
[Sure wish we were better at it, now that it's more important than ever: Networking.
Scott Jennings talking to the back of someone's head.]
Karen Welford, “Laid off from Midway Studios”: Uh… I knew the game was in a little bit of trouble but I didn’t necessarily see this coming(?).
[I am shocked - shocked! - that the thing I knew might happen, happened.]
KVUE: What Wilford didn’t see coming was the fact that she and dozens of her colleagues at Midway Studios would be laid off this week.
Mark Richards, “Resigned from Midway Studios”: So I think, you know, people were initially shocked by it, maybe not too surpised, but the shock that it actually happened and then now we just try to recover and just try to keep all those people here in Austin and not funneling off to other cities.”
[Austin Game Industry: From top to bottom, studios and employees.]
KVUE: Midway is the most recent local business in the game development industry to experience layoffs. Another local company is laying off 20 people. Two others could fold altogether. The question many are now asking is how will this effect Austin’s gaming industry, which is ranked second in the nation.
[You can't fire me, I quit! Also, I hope all these hobos get out of town.]
Mark Richards, “Resigned from Midway Studios”: Some of ‘em will probably leave development, or game development, some will probably leave the city. Hopefully they all will, but I don’t know if right now is a good time to be looking for jobs.
Karen Welford, “Laid off from Midway Studios”: There’s a lot of people in the industry here, from previous jobs that I’ve worked at, I know a lot of people at a lot of studios, so they’ve been really, uhm, reaching out to everybody I think.”
KVUE: By the way, I’m told that the layoffs here at Midway Studios are based partially on the slowing economy and also because of a gaming project which fell through.
Read More »
RSS Feed