Eek! Mythic has been hit yet again by the downsizing hammer, as a massive downsizing at Electronic Arts (1,500 employees by April) hits the developer hard: 40% of their employees. According to twitter feeds from ex-employees, Mythic has laid off about 80 employees, approximately 40% of the Warhammer Online developer crew.
“Mythic Entertainment…just laid of [sic] 80 people, about 40% of it’s [sic] employees.”
-Katherine Pitta, Electronic Arts
This news is not going to do anything good for confidence in Mythic’s Warhammer Online, especially when another MMO is set to go under this January (Dungeon Runners) due to continuous cutbacks of staff leading to eventual cancellation.
Depending on who you ask, many will tell you that this is a sign that Warhammer is dying. To say this is a sign is to say the sky getting dimmer is a sign that the sun is going down. You are correct, but we already knew that. Warhammer Online has been spiraling since it launched last year, and to remind people of “imminent doom” is just to beat a dead horse.
So is this a bad sign for Mythic? Obviously, and MMO Fallout will be watching WAR’s development over the next several months to see what effect layoffs will have on the game, and whether or not the content will suffer.
MMO Fallout 