Speaking with Game File (users will encounter a paywall) at the Game Developers Choice Awards, Larian director of publishing Michael Douse gave his take on the current state of the industry, including some sharp criticism on the wave after wave of mass layoffs we’ve been seeing.
“They are an avoidable fuck-up,” Douse said. “That’s all they really are. 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.”
Larian got especially fucked by this. They made BG3 and then Hasbro laid off pretty much everyone they worked with at WotC. Market response layoffs are a bullshit practice that needs to be called out more often.
Their fault for prioritizing making a finished and enjoyable cohesive project that plays to the strenghts of what fans want from a Table Top RPG over chasing the latest trends, like battle passes and microtransactions /s