Follow on from this morning’s bad news regarding Sony Online Entertainment, it has been confirmed that the company has gone through a restructuring process, closing several studios. Long awaited game ‘The Agency’ has also been cancelled. Existing games such as DCUO will not be affected.
SOE’s full statement reads as follows:
“As part of a strategic decision to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce, SOE announced today that it will eliminate 205 positions and close its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios. As part of this restructuring, SOE is discontinuing production of The Agency so it can focus development resources on delivering two new MMOs based on its renowned PlanetSide and EverQuest properties, while also maintaining its current portfolio of online games. All possible steps are being taken to ensure team members affected by the transition are treated with appropriate concern.
This strategic decision will have no impact on SOE’s current portfolio of live games; additionally SOE will transition development efforts for the Denver and Tucson studios’ suite of products to its San Diego headquarters. This strategic alignment of development resources better positions SOE to remain a global leader in online gaming and deliver on its promise of creating entertaining games for players of all ages, and servicing the 20 million players that visited SOE servers in just the past year.”
Source: IGN
nofi
Oh my, what a shame. :(
Foxhound_Solid
A real shame, lay offs are never good.
Star_Waters
WTF Sony seriously you cancel the only interesting unique game i was seriously looking forward to, this is indeed crap news on what was so far a good day
MuggleMind
Dammit. That was one game that I have been eagerly awaiting since it’s first mention.
More importantly, sorry for the people that have lost their jobs. This seems to be happening a lot lately, leading to even fewer jobs available for them elsewhere. Hopefully, they will find work elsewhere quickly.
cc_star
Had my eye on this since it was 1st mentioned
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2008/10/13/the-mmos-are-coming/
It never really seemed to get going, sure there was a website, and some concept art followed by some screen, but there always seemed very little to show for 2 to 3 years work
There was even cancellation rumours in 2008
squashme
well it was inevitable how many devs hands has the game changed since it was announced what gets to me is the fact that sony have tens of millions of dollars into the game only to cancle it that could of gone into another triple a game
hazelam
they were showing playable versions of this a couple of years ago weren’t they?
quinkill
WTF indeed! They championed this game as part of sony’s exclusive package for 2011. Oh well at least we still have uncharted, infamous, LBP the list goes on. No wonder I never turn on my xbox.
gazzagb
Shame, been following it for a while, even though there’s hardly been any news about it.
Peter Rushton
Ah well, there will always be other great games to play I guess!
Tuffcub
BOO!
Klart
I concur. BOO!
dude90
I was really waiting for this game, might play Free Realms in the meantime.
Burgess_101
is it working for you? mine just says that it can not launch ?
tonycawley
I can’t understand people who react angrily regarding news like this. Yes we all had high hopes for this game, but there are no shortage of games to play out there and this decision was obviously taken for good reason. I just feel sorry for those that have lost their jobs and hope for the best for them.
skibadee
when your told a game is coming you look forward to it totally get why people are upset.
tonycawley
Upset yes, angry no. It’s definitely a shame, but we need to put things in perspective sometimes. thousands of people just lost their lives in Japan. hundreds of people are losing their jobs here, this is just a game!
Smallville2106
I bet the people who have lost their jobs are more upset though.
Boomshanks
Sorry Tony, I understand what you’re trying to say but comparing this to Japan is wrong in my opinion. If we go by that route there is always something worse going on. Not trying to be a prick here or something.
BG Tips
‘this is just a game!’
and this is just a games website! ;)
tonycawley
I’m just trying to put things in a little perspective that’s all. Yes this is a games website, and yes we’re all gamers, but really the cancelling of the game isn’t really killer news, not in the great scheme of things. It’s a little selfish to bemoan the cancelling of the game when this story also reports on the hundreds of jobs that have been lost. There’s plenty of games for everyone to play so this news shouldn’t really be all that devastating.
skibadee
I think the team behind the game would understand why were upset about it means we care about what there making. hope they land on there feet but in no way does it mean I do not care that they lost there jobs.
Armonster9000
I’m going to have to agree with Tony on this one.
Forget about the game, people lost their jobs because of this.
Now they won’t be able to support themselves or their families. So put yourself into their shoes for a little bit, then come back and tell me if your are pissed off about this game being canceled.
Amphlett
Yup, I’m with Tony on this one. Being made redundant is so demoralising (I’ve been through it), especially when those affected have families and homes to support, never mind the emotional impact it has upon the person losing their job.
I worked out in the good old US of A for a short while through a UK based company and all of the Americans I worked with seemed to be permanently nervous about getting the call from their boss. I remember thinking how lucky I was to be employed by a UK firm where the employment laws protect the employee a lot more than those in the USA.
Good luck to all of those people affected, not only those losing their jobs but also their families and friends who will also share the emotional burden of the job cuts.
The loss of a potential game comes way down the list of priorities.
skibadee
your taking it to another level like everyone said …. they lost there jobs I want the game no one has said that.