Welcome back to another quick roundup of some MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news of the week! It’s business time in Hollis, Queens, but it’s nowhere near as jolly as that referenced song.
ZeniMax Online union “frustrated” by Microsoft: The workers of the ZeniMax Workers United-CWA union, which represents QA devs who work on games such as Elder Scrolls Online, are accusing Microsoft of stonewalling bargaining negotiations as the megacorp is reportedly hindering contract talks with union members intentionally. “We are frustrated,” reads a statement from the union. “It’s become increasingly clear that although Microsoft tries to position itself as a good-faith employer, there’s another story being told behind the scenes at the bargaining table.” Readers will recall that earlier this month, the union authorized a strike if negotiations between both parties broke down.
Hundreds laid off at EA: Unfortunately the shedding of employees that roared across most of 2024 continues into this year, with word that Electronic Arts has laid off up to 400 workers, including at Respawn Entertainment, the developer of the Titanfall series and the battle royale FPS Apex Legends. The culling of devs has also reportedly put the kibosh on two “incubation” projects that included an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe and affected a writer who was let go literally a day after the character she created debuted in Apex. We’re not sure there’s a big enough “yikes” for that one.
ConcernedApe’s full focus on his next project: Let’s close this roundup with something a little nicer, shall we? Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, aka the solo developer who created the adorable multiplayer life sim RPG Stardew Valley, is zeroing in on his next life sim RPG Haunted Chocolatier. That word comes from an interview with PC Gamer in which Barone says Stardew is in “a good place” after last year’s 1.6 update. Barone has even suggested that he should go into a cabin in the woods to focus on the new title, particularly with the length of development the title has already taken and his earlier stated desire to add more to Stardew. Best of luck, Barone. We can wait.
MMO Business Roundup: Microsoft stonewalls ZeniMax union, Electronic Arts lays off hundreds
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