- Many Gears of War: E-Day developers fear they will be laid off right after the game launches.
- The morale at the studio is quite low, especially after the game’s story director was recently dismissed.
- The team also fears it may not receive the Metacritic bonuses if they are fired before the end of October.
Xbox has been culling staff across many studios as part of its ‘great reset,’ which has seen hundreds of talented developers being dismissed in this year alone. Even teams with strong track records feel unsafe these days as overall morale across Xbox plummets.
A new report reveals many Gears of War: E-Day developers are also on edge about their futures at The Coalition.
Much of the staff fear being laid off right after E-Day launches. The concerns have skyrocketed after E-Day’s narrative director and a few developers were fired a week before release.
Why it matters: The overall atmosphere at The Coalition is quite grim, especially at a time when the developers would be commemorating the Gears of War: E-Day launch. The team instead aims to wait and survive for three months before it dares to celebrate.
Speaking to Eurogamer, many anonymous developers have confirmed they are not optimistic about what lies ahead after Gears of War: E-Day launches. With Xbox’s planned reset meant to continue until FY27, they expect the worst in the next wave.
The mood is certainly ‘let’s not celebrate the game until we’re three months post launch, just in case’, which is very unusual.
-Anonymous Developer.
Many developers fear they will be dismissed or rearranged under Activision later this year. Additionally, the team expects a lucrative Metacritic bonus at the end of October, but being laid off might make them ineligible for it, as per the policy.
Some anonymous developers even claimed they wouldn’t put it past Microsoft to fire them just before the bonuses.
On another note, Gears of War: E-Day is also in a tough spot by skipping the PS5 release, as recouping budget won’t be easy on Xbox and PC alone. Releasing on Game Pass day one may even prevent E-Day from selling 1 million copies on Steam.
Do you think The Coalition will be impacted by layoffs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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