Virtuos, the Development Giant, Announces Layoffs

I heard somewhere that Virtuos, that big co-development company, is laying off people. I mean, who isn’t doing that these days, right? A French journalist named Gauthier Andres blew the whistle on this on BlueSky. Crazy name for a platform, but moving on – apparently about 7%. That’s like 300 folks. Ouch.

Anyway, Virtuos finally came clean, saying they’re letting go of 200 in Asia and about 70 in Europe. Oh, and less than 10 in France. Why do companies always say “less than”? Just say the number.

So, they’re saying it’s because of “changing needs,” whatever that means. Something about making game development more “complex” and wanting to focus on high-value this and that. Full game engineering, art stuff, creative – yada yada – you get the drill.

But there’s a silver lining! Or that’s what they want us to believe. Those laid-off will get some pay, and they promise to help with new jobs. You know, in their “global business.” Whatever that means.

Oh, and if you didn’t know, Virtuos gave us that revamped Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion earlier this year. Plus, they’re working on Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater – catchy title, not sure what it means, but it sounds intriguing. They’ve also dabbled in Dune: Awakening, Cyberpunk 2077, and Sea of Thieves. Busy, busy!

Doesn’t this sound like every other day now? Microsoft just did their whole fourth round of layoffs in the past year and a half or something. Kind of makes you wonder who’s next on the chopping block.