Day Developers Fear For Their Jobs And Bonuses

Key Points:

• Developers at Microsoft-owned studio The Coalition, responsible for Gears of War: E-Day, fear imminent layoffs despite the game's upcoming release on October 6, following recent job cuts including the departure of story director Juan Vaca.
• Staff had hoped the release and subsequent support of the game would protect them from Microsoft's widespread Xbox team layoffs, but morale has declined sharply as more team members have been let go unexpectedly.
• The Coalition employees were expecting a "Metacritic bonus" payout contingent on the game's review score, but layoffs before the end-of-October payout date could result in many losing this financial reward for their work.
• Post-release layoffs are common in the AAA gaming industry due to project-based hiring and the lack of union protections, but The Coalition had been optimistic due to Microsoft's prior hands-off approach and the franchise's success—an optimism now fading amid broader Microsoft studio cutbacks.
• It remains uncertain if further layoffs will occur or if Microsoft will honor promised bonuses for departing staff, but the current situation has created a stressful and demoralizing environment for the studio's remaining employees.