More layoffs
Roll7, developers of bright skateboarding gamesOlliOlli Worldand dual-wielding bloodsportRollerdrome, are being closed down as part of large scale layoffs by parent corp Take-Two Interactive, according todocuments seen by Bloomberg. The British studio has been responsible for some great stuff over the years but the report says they’ll be following thefate of Kerbal Space Program 2 developersin being laid off.
Aside from the memos seen by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, there isn’t much else to know at the moment. “Take-Two plans to close the studio and will offer severance agreements to its staff,” he writes. Roll7 haven’t officially confirmed the closure, so it’s possible the layoffs are not total. But Schreier has made a name for himself reporting on labour issues in the games industry and is often accurate about such things. If it is true, about 60 people may have lost their jobs. We’ve reached out to staff at Roll7 for comment.
It would be dispiriting to see an accomplished studio like this being shuttered.OlliOlli2 is one ofmy favourite games of all time. I own it on three platforms. I played it so much I brokethe top 50 on the leaderboards. After that,OlliOlli World was an incredible and colourful updateon everything that made their skateboarding so responsive, wild, and focused. That’s not to mention the giffable joy of Rollerdrome, whichour review called “polished and precise”.
Layoffs are a painful, anxiety-inducing wound to those hit. At the risk of being vULneRaBLe oNLiNe, I was also unexpectedly let go from a games industry job only a month ago due to knock-on effects from what may be colloquially referred to as “Embracer bullshit”. I get why it happened but… it sucked! My thoughts and best wishes go out to anyone caught up in Take-Two’s decisions.
