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Baldur's Gate 3 Dev Larian's Publishing Director Calls Games Industry Layoffs an 'Avoidable F*ck Up'
06.04.2024 - 00:27 / ign.com / Michael Douse
Over the past few months, Baldur's Gate 3's developers have used its platform during awards season speeches to advocate for a healthier game industry. This tradition now extends to its publishing director, who, in a recent interview with Game File, shared his thoughts on industry-wide layoffs plaguing developers over the past two years as an "avoidable fuck up."
Chief among 2024's massive layoffs include Nintendo announcing its restructuring in March which has the potential to affect over 100 contract workers; Sony laying off roughly 900 employees in February — including developers across studios like Insomniac, Naughty Dog, and Guerrilla, and Microsoft laying off 1,900 staff from its workforce in January following its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Speaking with Game File's Steven Totilo, Michael Douse likened major gaming companies to massive oil tankers predicated on their ability to steer toward sucess. Should a company fail to plan accordingly, while giving developers proper financial reserves to pivot, fallout via layoffs is sure to come. Instead of feeling like layoffs are an inevitable aspect of the gaming industry, Douse argues that they are avoidable.
"But to prevent these giant operational failures that we call layoffs…they are an avoidable f*ck up. That's really all they are," Douse told Game File. "That's why you see one after the other. Because companies are going: ‘Well, finally. Now we can, too. We've wanted to do it for ages. Everyone else is. So why don't we?’ That's really kind of sick.’"
Douse went on to note that none of the company's issuing layoffs are at risk of going bankrupt, but are instead at risk of "pissing off the shareholders." This shareholder-motivated business mindset was something Larian CEO Swen Vincke called out during his acceptance speech for Baldur's Gate 3's Best Narrative award. Douse echoed Vincke's sentiments, saying companies should instead curb their greed and plan better so that developers have enough financial reserves available to pivot should they need to steer a game in a different direction.
"[Layoffs] a very, very complex and nuanced decision, Douse said. "But the idea that it's an inevitability that has to happen, It's just not true."
Douse credited much of Baldur's Gate 3's achievements, namely maintaining a healthy work environment for its employees to Larian Studios being a privately owned company unbeholden to shareholders. When asked whether Larian Studios would ever go public, Douse said it might give them more money but it would be "antithetical to the quality part of what we're trying to do."
"So it wouldn't make our games better. It would just make us rushed," Douse said. "If you asked us what Baldur's Gate III would look
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