Top Baldur’s Gate 3 dev slams mass layoffs across gaming industry

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Michael Douse has given his take on the layoffs in the gaming scene.

The attitude towards the gaming industry is proving to be very timid as we proceed through 2024, with no news of layoffs since the beginning of the year. The publishing director of Larian Studios, the team behind Baldur’s Gate 3, spoke his mind, being very explicit with his opinion.

Larian Studios

In an interview with Game File publishing director of Larian Studios, Michael Douse has some choice words for the current state of gaming. “None of these companies are at risk of going bankrupt. They’re just at risk of pissing off the shareholders. And that’s fine. That’s how they work. The function of a public company is to create growth for its shareholders. It’s not to make a happy climate for the employees.”

Michael Douse hit out in protest of mass layoffs: “layoffs are an avoidable f**kup. That’s all they really are. That’s why you see one after the other. Because companies are going: ‘Well, finally. Now we can, too. We’ve wanted to do it for ages. Everyone else is. So why don’t we?’ That’s really kind of sick.”

In 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 earned the “Game of the Year” award, beating out Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. However, it did not earn a nomination in the Best Independent Game category.

The cascading effect of layoffs in the games industry isn’t subtle, with job loss figures reaching over 13,000 since January 2023, with EA, Microsoft, Sony, Embracer Group, Sega, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Unity Technologies, and Riot Games being the biggest sources of layoffs.