The rumors are true, ArenaNet has confirmed that there are going to be layoffs but how many is still unknown. They put out a post on the official Guild Was 2 forum today that confirms that the delay in the Warclaw is directly related to this layoff. They also state that all this is for the good of the company and that Guild Wars 2 will continue with new content in areas of PvP, WvW and Living world 4 ending with Living World 5 coming directly after.
This is what Mile Zadorojny posted on the official Guild Wars 2 Forum on February 27, 2019:
Update From the Guild Wars 2 Team:
“Hi everyone,
This past week there have been a lot of questions about the status of Guild Wars 2. I’d like to share with you a little about what’s currently going on at the studio and what it means for the game.
The Guild Wars 2 team is still committed to bringing content and feature updates to the game. The next episodes of Living World are already in development, Swiss tournament support is coming to PvP, we’re looking at more WvW events coming soon, and the return of the Super Adventure Festival is imminent. Our long-term plans for the game like World Restructuring and large-scale improvements to quality of life are still in the works.
The studio has recently been affected by layoffs, which is going to take some time to process. There’s no easy way for any team to adjust to that. We’ve had to say goodbye to friends and colleagues that we’ve worked alongside for years. We’re welcoming back some familiar faces to the Guild Wars 2 team that had been working on unannounced projects. After all is said and done, it’s going to take some time for us to adjust to our staffing changes.
As the proverbial dust settles in the next few days we’re going to re-evaluate our schedules to make sure that our releases are realistic and allow us the time to make sure they hit our internal quality bar. This means that some updates are going to see delays, like the recent Warclaw, as we regain our focus.
I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have reached out in support of our studio family. Thank you for your patience in this trying time. We’re making every effort to keep things running as smoothly as possible and stay on track with releases. Rest assured that ArenaNet is not done with Guild Wars. And the team is not done with our tale of dragons, or our eternal conflict in the mists. There’s still lots for us to do together.
We’ll see you in Tyria,
z & the Guild Wars 2 Team”
So what does it mean? How many employees are getting severance packages and told to pack up?
According to PCGamer, from an update to their original article on February 21, 2019. They state that “In response to our inquiry, ArenaNet issued the following statement:
“We can confirm that due to the cancellation of unannounced projects, ArenaNet will make staff reductions. This is part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT in the west, but the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 game services will not be affected, nor is any upcoming game content canceled.”
The studio declined to comment on the number of employees affected by the cuts”.
And from Kotaku update to their February 21, 2019 article, “ArenaNet management addressed employees directly in two meetings this afternoon, according to people who were there. There’s still no word on how many people will be laid off, and most employees are still in limbo as they wait to find out if they’ll be affected” and that “ArenaNet told employees it will be giving out severance of two months to anyone losing their jobs, as well as bonus time based on tenure with the company”.
So what does the future hold for Guild Wars 2? We will have to see. They say things will get better, the game will continue and ArenaNet will endure. I hope so, Guild Wars 2 has become part of a family past-time but only time will tell.
