It was just one week ago that we reported on a round of layoffs at Crystal Dynamics. For a mere seven days, the Tomb Raider maker had the dubious distinction of being the latest major Western studio to soak up the limelight after wrecking developers' livelihoods. Today, that odious trophy has been passed to Firaxis Games, the legendary devs behind the Civilization series.
Civilization 7 launched to rocky reviews and rockier audience reception earlier this year. Back in August, publisher Take-Two admitted that the highly-anticipated strategy sequel had a "slow start" while expressing optimism in its "lifetime value." It may have been that slow start that's the root of these layoffs.
The details are scarce, as RockPaperShotgun's attempts at ascertaining the precise number of layoffs were rebuffed by a 2K spokesperson, who merely confirmed the layoffs had occurred. Folks only learned that layoffs had happened at all when Emma Kidwell, a narrative designer who worked on Civ 7 and 2022's excellent Marvel's Midnight Suns, announced that she's been let go. She's also posted the news on Bluesky:
Kidwell's openness to new work opportunities will hopefully lead to a fast turn-around. It'd be equally lovely if the...
