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Gigantic Developer Motiga Suffers ‘Significant, Temporary Layoffs’ That Will Impact Game Progress
There's bad news out of Gigantic developer Motiga this afternoon. The developer has announced “significant, temporary layoffs” impacting all departments.
Motiga CEO Chris Chung says the company had no choice but to make the decision. “Our financial situation is such that we are unable to continue supporting the entirety of the studio at this time,” he writes. “Though we are in active and promising discussions with a number of potential investors, the timing for those negotiations extends beyond the resources we have to maintain the staffing required to continue development on Gigantic.”
Gigantic’s NDA just dropped, giving the community of beta testers permission to speak freely about the game. Unfortunately, the longevity of the game’s operations are now in question.
“While we intend to continue supporting Gigantic game services for as long as we are able, the reality is that a decision of this magnitude will impact all departments across the studio, an impact that will be felt by our community of beta testers as the services they depend on will operate without the key staff on hand to support those services,” Chung writes. He indicates that there isn’t certainty whether Gigantic will, in fact, make it to market.
The company is actively working to locate a financial parachute that would allow it to rehire those it had to layoff. Motiga says it will remain transparent and provide more information as it is available.
Gigantic was originally supposed to launch into open beta in 2015 on PC and Xbox One. When it was delayed in December, the company was forced to lay off staff.
[Source: Motiga]
Our Take
Our thoughts are with those affected today and those at the company still working to secure its future. Chung’s transparency is to be admired, even in the face of news that is particularly dire. Motiga is at a turning point, and if things don’t fall into place, it (and Gigantic) could very well disappear.
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