GreedFall 2 Devs Spiders Face Animation Team Layoffs: More Stings Than a Giant Mosquito?
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Spiders, the studio behind GreedFall 2, is reportedly planning layoffs affecting their animation and rigging teams, raising questions about working conditions and previous promises made after a staff strike. It's another blow in what's shaping up to be a brutal year for gaming industry jobs, as originally reported by Rock Paper Shotgun.
Right, so word on the digital street is that Spiders, the studio behind *GreedFall 2*, are apparently sharpening their layoff claws, and rumour has it the animation and rigging teams are looking at a particularly nasty sting.
According to a LinkedIn post by Erwan Perrin, a lead animator at Spiders (who, bless him, has been there since 2021), "most" of the animation and rigging crew are facing the chop. Ouch. This wasn't just a random shout into the void, either; several other Spiders employees have reposted the message, which suggests this isn't some isolated rumour, but a bloody real thing.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Layoffs? In *this* economy?" (Okay, maybe you weren't thinking that exactly, but the sentiment's there). It's been a proper bloodbath across the gaming industry this year, with studios like Virtuos (who co-developed the *Oblivion Remastered*) also chucking folks into the void. What is going on, eh?
But here's where it gets a bit spicier than your average "corporate speak" flavoured stew. Remember last September when *GreedFall 2* hit early access? Well, just before that, a whopping 44 out of Spiders' 95 employees signed an open letter calling for a strike. Blimey. They weren't exactly thrilled with the working conditions, citing issues like "global mismanagement, turnover and recruitment problems, unacceptable delays in achieving gender equality and parity, important lack of transparency, denial of problems, refusal to acknowledge worker representation and blocked negotiations". It sounds like a proper old mess, doesn't it?
Spiders, naturally, weren't exactly thrilled with the open letter, calling the accusations "false and even defamatory" and claiming they "in no way reflect the reality of the day-to-day working life of the company's employees." The plot thickens, I reckon.
Subsequent negotiations with the Syndicat des Travailleurs/ses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV), a French union representing the staff, supposedly led to promises of an "audit" of working conditions and bonuses based on *GreedFall 2*'s early access performance. So, were those promises...empty? That's the question hanging in the air like a dodgy spell about to backfire.
I'm not saying these layoffs are *directly* related to the strike (because, fair play, I don't actually *know*), but it certainly paints a picture of a studio facing some proper turbulence. *GreedFall 2*'s Steam reviews are currently sitting at "mixed," which probably isn't helping things. Whether these redundancies impact the development road map remains to be seen.
Here's hoping those affected by these layoffs land on their feet, preferably on a giant pile of gold doubloons. The original story was reported by Mark Warren over at Rock Paper Shotgun, so big up to them for digging into this one. Let's keep our fingers crossed for everyone involved. Now where's my lucky rabbit's foot? This industry can be a bit of a gamble, can't it?
Tags: GreedFall 2, Spiders, Layoffs, Game Development, Industry News
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun