Oblivion Remastered Developer Confirms Layoffs

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Unfortunately, this has become all too common in the gaming industry. The success of a game no longer seems directly tied to what happens next with the staff who worked on it. Many studios, from Microsoft to the team behind popular mobile app Candy Crush, have seen layoffs recently. Now, it looks like Virtuos is joining them as Eurogamer reports Virtuos has “confirmed a ‘restructure’ at the company.”

Image courtesy of Virtuos

Rumors about layoffs at Virtuos began circulating earlier today and were later confirmed by the developer in an official post via their website. The studio not only delivered the remaster of Oblivion, but also big games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The most recent update for Cyberpunk 2077 was just confirmed alongside a recent patch for Oblivion Remastered. So, the timing is a bit of a surprise for fans who have seen the studio hard at work supporting its biggest titles.

Virtuos Downsizes but Remains “Fully Committed” To Its Games

Following rumors of layoffs, Virtuos shared the details of its restructure in a new post on their website. According to the developer, the downsizing impacts around 7% of the team and is focused on teams with “slower demand due to structural shifts in the industry.” Employees in Asia were the hardest hit by layoffs, with 200 positions eliminated there. 70 roles were impacted in Europe, as well, though very few of them were within the Oblivion Remastered team.

Along with confirming the number of individuals impacted by the restructuring, Virtuos went on to assure gamers about the future of the studio’s popular titles. Despite eliminating a good portion of its team, the studio reportedly “remains ‘fully committed’ to” honoring its partnerships on games like Oblivion Remastered and Cyberpunk 2077. Hopefully, this means that those big updates both games recently received will not be the last.

Image courtesy of CD Projekt Red

Though Virtuos itself has not addressed the rumors, some sources claim that the layoffs are partly because of the resources directed at the Oblivion remaster. French reporter Gauthier Andres also claims that the company is moving towards using generative AI, echoing what recently happened with the Candy Crush team.

It does not appear that Virtuos responded directly to this allegation. So, it’s unclear how much a move toward the controversial use of Generative AI to replace human creatives actually impacted the decision to restructure, if at all. The developers stated reasons behind the restructuring point to “realigning our global footprint and capabilities” to strengthen their offerings, specifically pointing out “creative content production and live services” alongside game engineering and advanced art.

This latest set of unfortunate layoffs is unfortunately all too familiar in the gaming industry lately. The recent Microsoft layoffs resulted in several games being scrapped or put into doubt. Virtuos has partnered with many big names in the industry and states it is committed to continuing to do so. At this time, it’s unclear exactly how this could impact future games in the works.

[H/T: Eurogamer]