Ouch. Sorry, guys...
Destructoid is reporting that EA Mythic is going through a restructuring process with the intent to cut costs, which means layoffs are forthcoming. The first head to hit the chopping block was apparently the majority of the UO team. The employees, of course, are less than thrilled about the sudden downsizing and some unofficial commentary can be found around the web.
From Destructoid:
The email from Mythic VP Rob Denton was sent to all employees of Mythic and details some of the plans to reduce costs by cutting jobs as well as some actions already taken. Headcount will be managed through "attrition, performance management, stricter hiring guidelines and layoffs". Over the next two months, the Ultima Online team will be moving from EA Redwood Shores to Mythic's Fairfax, VA studio to streamline operations. Meanwhile, a number of employees at both studios have already been let go as of earlier today including many UO staffers, with more to follow as EA tightens its belt in the coming months.
From the UO Stratics Forum:
There is nothing to lose for me to post this and I admit I feel bitter, so why not let you know the truth?
Alot of the UO team was laid off today including me and all of QA.
We were escorted out of the building and not even allowed to email our goodbye email to everyone else. They even had managers watching us the whole time like we had done something wrong.
Most of the engineers are already working on Warhammer.
Most of the rest of the UO team is not going to Virginia. Only one person is moving fore sure and maybe one or two more are considering it too. Thats it. Almost all of the famous devs are not going.
Almost everyone on the list posted earlier by someone is not going to Virginia for sure.
Early December is when everyone who does not move to Virginia is laid off too.
I hope that something I did for UO is something that you found fun. We really did try to do our best.
Maybe I will see you all in another not EA game soon!
