As reported last week, there were layoffs at Gazillion, the developers behind Marvel Heroes 2015.
Last week, a former employee of Gazillion tweeted that he is thinking of his former colleagues. Many were laid off and are now seeking jobs in the game industry.
Super sad for all my friends at Gazillion looking for work today. Again, if anybody knows of anything in SF, speak up. They’re good people.
— Michael Parks (@Cuthpaste) September 2, 2015
After it became clear that his tweet turned into news, the ex-employee added: This is not a story, no news, there’s nothing to report here.
And again, I have NO story here. I know people that are now out of work and I want them to land on their feet. Sorry, that’s it.
— Michael Parks (@Cuthpaste) September 2, 2015
However, his former employer Gazillion admitted to the same questions: Yes, there have been layoffs. These occurred as part of a “restructuring”. No details were provided. Players should not worry, they are healthy and will continue to deliver great game content.
Mein MMO says Aside from the fact that the gaming industry is known to be “volatile” (a nice word for “people are frequently hired and laid off”), one can see from this example how today’s news world operates. The ex-employee probably really didn’t want journalists to spin a news story out of it that would leave a negative aftertaste for the former company. However, anyone today in any official, prominent, or insider position who tweets can just as easily write a press release.
The gaming news sites are now structured in such a way that they encourage their readership to send them exactly such tweets or other news. Or the journalists themselves follow dozens of people on social networks.
