Layoffs post-launch are not new in the MMO world. Once an MMO has launched, and most of the post-launch bugs are taken care of, a large part of the team (many working under contract rather than full employment) are let go. Think of it as seasonal work, but working on a video game rather than stocking shelves at a Wal Mart around Christmas time. A lot of people are not aware of this factor, however:
So when the announcement came that Icarus was restructuring and had laid off a reported 80% of their staff, I was not all too surprised. In an interview with Massively, Marketing Manager Jessica Orr revealed that a team of 110 employees was reduced to around 35, not including GMs, customer service, and (assumed) janitorial staff. Orr also doused rumors that the impending layoffs were the reason Lee Hammock had resigned, noting that he was offered a position at another company. Oh and future updates should not be impacted.
So there you have it. Fallen Earth is triple A and here to stay! As NCwest’s President put it…No, he was talking about Tabula Rasa.
On another note, take this bias spin as you will, being that unless Icarus has been planning their major patches with this layoff in mind all along, future updates will indeed be affected by having a smaller team. Are these layoffs post-launch normal? Absolutely. Is this a sign that Fallen Earth is in danger? No, nowhere near it.
I mean, it’s not like Fallen Earth is so empty that you are constantly the only person within /who range, right? But that’s a topic for another day.
MMO Fallout 
