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Bethesda & Xbox To Meet Up With Laid-Off Deep Silver Volition Employees

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
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In a LinkedIn post by Shawn Guiney, Bethesda, and Xbox Game Studio representatives have shown support by meeting with the employees affected by the recent closure of Deep Silver Volition. This compassionate gesture from two industry giants not only showcases their commitment to the gaming community but also highlights the importance of unity in times of adversity.
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The closure of Saints Row developer, Volition, undoubtedly brought uncertainty and concern for those talented individuals who found themselves suddenly without a workplace. However, Bethesda and Xbox, known for their dedication to creating innovative gaming experiences, might have opened their doors to them.

The meeting itself may even provide job opportunities in order to leverage their skills and expertise to further enrich their game development endeavors. This collaborative approach not only benefits the individuals involved but also contributes to the growth and evolution of the gaming industry as a whole.

As for the affected employees, this provides a glimmer of hope and a potential chance to continue their careers in an industry they are passionate about. It is a testament to their talent and dedication that two renowned studios have recognized their potential and are willing to meet up with them in person.
 
Surely it's the Directors and Upper Management that makes those decisions, the vast majority of Devs are their punching a paycheck week in week out

Not at all.

Outside of studios with hugely prolific creative directors like Hideo Kojima, most modern AAA studios adopt a flat structure for creative decision-making. And you only needed to watch those Volition dev diary videos to understand that the whole team was on board and behind the creative direction for the new Saints Row.

Where studio leads are pushing in a direction and the rest of the studio vehemently rejects it, you get mass departures and games in development hell. That simply wasn't the case for Volition and Saints Row. The vast majority at the studio not only didn't reject the new direction they took the franchise, they celebrated it; and to the point that they were shitting on fans on social media to defend their "creative" decisions.
 
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Lord Panda

The Sea is Always Right
Could Microsoft perhaps consider acquiring the Descent and FreeSpace IPs as well?

When the GTVA forces finally reach Sol, after a harrowing expulsion from the Capella system at the hands of the relentless Shivans, they stumble upon a drastically altered timeline. Earth is now ensnared in a seemingly hopeless battle against the formidable Covenant. And in this dire hour, the beacon of hope turns out to be none other than the legendary Master Chief, guided by his unflinchingly loyal AI, Siri.

In this unexpected convergence of worlds, alliances will be tested and new bonds formed as they band together to face the cataclysmic threat posed by the Shivans, potentially giving birth to an alliance that could save their interconnected worlds from the brink of destruction.

2CHnTiP.gif


Yeah, yeah, I've got no life.
 
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Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
all i did on 360 was destroying any building or bridge i see

Thats exactly what I miss about RedFaction, just blowing up stuff.....considering the power of the CPUs weve got im honestly surprised Volition didnt even try to make a small-ish RedFaction game with a throwaway story but awesome destruction......weve got so few games that allow that level of destruction these days.
 

Lord Panda

The Sea is Always Right
Red Faction multiplayer on the X360 was some of the best online fun I've ever had. My friends and I would still talk about our hilarious sessions to this day.
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
Dude, not all employees represent management / marketing leeches.

Take a deep breath
Yeah, the culture wars screwed people brains up. The latest output from Volition wasn't great, but MS is just using this chance to drum up some publicity ,and pick up devs who just got laid off.

There is no need to go crazy here. Management and a few morons on social media isn't the majority of people in the studio. Most folks just want to do their job and get a paycheck.

Edit: The more interesting point is that MS fired thousands of developers recently. So this is kind of iffy. Although I guess Bethesda probably picked up folks who they needed from those layoff rounds.
 
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Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Edit: The more interesting point is that MS fired thousands of developers recently. So this is kind of iffy. Although I guess Bethesda probably picked up folks who they needed from those layoff rounds.

I'd imagine this is going to happen regularly in future too. Annual layoffs are basically standard for mega-corporations as they seek to maximize efficiency and productivity whilst continually expanding.

The bigger question is what lessons were learned from the collapse of Volition. It might seem to some that the obvious reason the Saints Row reboot failed was its "poochiefication", while to others that trend-chasing approach was less instrumental than other design or marketing decisions.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
I'd imagine this is going to happen regularly in future too. Annual layoffs are basically standard for mega-corporations as they seek to maximize efficiency and productivity whilst continually expanding.

The bigger question is what lessons were learned from the collapse of Volition. It might seem to some that the obvious reason the Saints Row reboot failed was its "poochiefication", while to others that trend-chasing approach was less instrumental than other design or marketing decisions.
The Saints Row reboot intentionally gave longtime series fans the middle finger by pushing a story that was absurdly outside what they had come to expect. They were trying to use the reputation of the brand to lure in a new audience and they failed to capture the old audience or a new one. They should have just named it something else to try to appeal more to the audience they wanted. They didn't make a bad game, they just made bad assumptions about who would want it.

I would be surprised if most of the people affected by the layoffs had any real say in the story or direction.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
If Saints Row is the best the studio can put out then they just don't have the talent to work on triple A titles.

Microsoft is already playing catch up with the Tier 1 studios at Sony. But they are making strides. It would be so damaging introducing staff who just can't work to the level required. Saints Row was not as bad as it was made out but it wasn't even up to Aveum or Godfall, even Marvel Avengers.
 
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