Kaser Focus: Lay off

Last week’s column was a bit grim, I admit. It was coming from a place of upset and frustration. I wish I could tell you that this week was better, but honestly, not so much. We’ve had multiple stories about layoffs in the industry, which is never fun to hear. Also, it seems both Monkey Island and God of War have inflamed tensions between gamers and game creators. It’s not been all bad this week — but man, it hasn’t been all good, either.

To start with the bad news, both Unity and Niantic announced layoffs this week. Niantic laid off over 80 members of its staff and cancelled several unfinished projects. According to a spokesperson (via The Verge), this is to “focus on our most important priorities, including Pokémon Go and a select set of new experiences.” Unity, meanwhile, has reportedly laid off 4% of its staff (or at least that much are “affected” by the layoffs), which would be just over 200 people. The company said in a statement this is part of “a continued planning process where we regularly assess our resourcing levels against our company priorities.”