"Baldur's Gate 3 Publisher Urges Developers to Pirate BioWare's Approach"

The recent layoffs at BioWare, the developers behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard, have sparked significant discussions about the state of the gaming industry. These layoffs have brought to light the broader issue of job security within the sector, prompting industry insiders to voice their concerns.

Michael Daus, the publishing director at Larian Studios, has been vocal on social media about the troubling trend of layoffs. He argues that it's essential to value employees and that the responsibility for these decisions should not fall on the regular workforce but on those who make strategic decisions. Daus emphasizes the importance of retaining institutional knowledge between projects, stating, "You can avoid laying off a large part of the development team between projects or after they are completed. It's crucial to retain that institutional knowledge and it's key for subsequent projects."

He critiques the common corporate justification of "trimming the fat" or reducing redundancies, especially when companies face financial difficulties. Daus questions the necessity of such aggressive efficiency measures, particularly when they don't result in consistent hits. He argues that aggressive layoffs are not the solution but rather an extreme form of cost-cutting. He points out that the strategies developed by higher-ups are the real issue, yet it's the employees at the bottom who suffer the consequences. In a striking analogy, Daus suggests that companies should be managed like pirate ships, where the captain would be held accountable for failures: "The captain would be tossed overboard on a pirate ship. Companies that make video games ought to be managed like pirates."

Daus's comments highlight a growing sentiment within the industry that the focus should shift from short-term cost-cutting to long-term sustainability and employee welfare. As the gaming industry continues to evolve, the treatment of its workforce remains a critical topic of discussion.