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A lot of the air in the games industry is being sucked out by Fortnite. Indirectly this is the cause of these layouts. Fortnite directly completes against Ove

A lot of the air in the games industry is being sucked out by Fortnite. Indirectly this is the cause of these layouts. Fortnite directly completes against Overwatch and it is taking away time that gamers would otherwise spent on other A/B titles.

Techonomicon 8y ago
Damn, that's one bold statement with pretty much no proof that is the case. Activision / Blizzard obviously realizes that fortnite is doing well, and could ramp up development on some new future competitor, why would fortnite be a reason to cause layoffs? They could react in a slew of ways to combat the issue, layoffs simply put them in a position where they can't attack. There are layoffs in the game industry because there are always layoffs in the game industry. Ramp up when starting a game, hiring through building it, firing after it's out and stable and at a cadence when you don't need all those silly game makers to just keep the ball rolling.
- EpicEng 8y ago
  >There are layoffs in the game industry because there are always layoffs in the game industry. Ramp up when starting a game, hiring through building it, firing after it's out and stable and at a cadence when you don't need all those silly game makers to just keep the ball rolling. If you've been paying attention then you know there is far more than ramping up and back down at play right now in Blizzard.
EpicEng 8y ago
Fortnite is eating their (and many others') lunch, yes, but Activision/Blizzard is a very different entity than what most pre-Activision fans remember. Blizzard is still massively profitable... but it's not enough. Profits are the sole driving force now and I think we're going to see a rapid decline in quality from Blizzard (we have already to some extent.) Don't get me wrong, I get the realities at play here, but Blizzard was a better company (for consumers) before Activision and when Activision was acting more as a partner than a corporate overlord. Many of the stories coming out from ex employees are disheartening. The Diablo fiasco was disheartening, as was the swift cancellation of the competitive HoS league. Blizzard always sold themselves as a "by gamers, for gamers" company, and they were for a long time. That doesn't appear to be the case any longer.
nerdjon 8y ago
I feel like blaming Fortnite for this is a stretch. When there has just been a noticeable decrease in quality of Blizzard games since they have merged. - Heroes tried to to cash in on the loot box craze and from what I have seen has been very negative - Diablo has basically been ignored except for their mobile app (which went on to hurt Blizzard's reputation and just strengthen a competing game, Path of Exile) On the Activision side, there were reports that a good portion of this could be tied to support staff for Destiny 2 no longer being needed. Overwatch seems to actually be doing pretty well, and I would not be surprised if it was the only team not affected by layoffs.
- ocdtrekkie 8y ago
  Whoa there. Heroes of the Storm has, by far, hands down, the best loot box model in the industry. I'm still irritated Overwatch doesn't use it yet. And please, tell everyone you know in the game industry to steal the monetization model from Heroes. If Heroes is a failure, it's because it doesn't behave badly to try to make you spend money. Heroes hands out loot boxes like candy, I'd say you'll get three or four times as many as Overwatch. And then Heroes also adds a reroll mechanic, where for a trivial gold (currency from doing matches and in-game quests) amount, you can reroll the box up to three times. And as with Overwatch, of course, loot boxes are cosmetics only (except for the very rare hero unlock, which most people aren't getting via loot boxes anyways). I've rarely been dissatisfied with a Heroes lootbox because I can reroll it until it's good, and I've always gotten so many Heroes lootboxes I've never even felt the drive to buy any. And then in addition to the ability to use your duplicate currency to forge the exact cosmetics you want, Heroes is going to re-add direct cash purchase for all skins, so you don't need to buy loot boxes to buy skins. I've bought a number of skins over the years, but never paid for a loot box. Probably the "best" way to spend money on Heroes if you want to (though you have really no reason you have to), is you can get stim packs to increase your XP (no in-game benefit) and gold generation.
  - jrockway 8y ago
    I've never been dissatisfied by Overwatch loot boxes. If I play an average amount I usually get every item. If I don't play I don't get any items. Seems fair.
ben_jones 8y ago
Ironically Apex Legends just released as a direct Fortnite competitor and is doing really well post-launch, winning over a large portion of the Twitch community and attracting non-BR players to the game mode.
zamalek 8y ago
> Indirectly this is the cause of these layouts. "Don't you have phones?" Blizzard has been struggling to connect with fans for longer than Fortnite co-op has been a thing. There are some prior employees who have been quite vocal about the situation: they simply don't know to continue printing money without upsetting their fans. The merger with Activision was a very strong signal: how does it make any sense that a beloved publisher that is known for innovative games team up with a publisher who pushes out the same games every year? The straw is a mobile game while everyone was waiting for the next PC (and potentially console) launch. "The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes." Then consider EA, everyone's pet hate (for good reason). Here's a company that has been testing gamers in terms of micro-transactions for years. With Apex, not only have they earned a lot of trust by following Epic's lead, they have put out a title that is genuinely fun and innovative [in the space]. They are listening to the market. > A lot of the air in the games industry is being sucked out by Fortnite. There are currently 317K viewers of Apex on Twitch and 108K Fortnite. This clearly isn't true. There's plenty of air to be had. I'm venturing off-topic here, but the problem with Overwatch is that it's team-based competitive; that attracts a certain type of player-base. If you don't play the ladder (in a year I had about 6 hours total in that toxic hell hole), good luck finding games without quitters. If Blizzard put out a decent Diablo 4, or Starcraft 3, I can almost guarantee they'd find a lot of room to breathe, but a mobile ARPG/HnS was printing money in Asia, so we have that.
hnick 8y ago
Fortnite has funded my free copies of Subnautica and Axiom Verge from the Epic store so that's a win for me.

Techonomicon 8y ago

Damn, that's one bold statement with pretty much no proof that is the case. Activision / Blizzard obviously realizes that fortnite is doing well, and could ramp up development on some new future competitor, why would fortnite be a reason to cause layoffs? They could react in a slew of ways to combat the issue, layoffs simply put them in a position where they can't attack. There are layoffs in the game industry because there are always layoffs in the game industry. Ramp up when starting a game, hiring through building it, firing after it's out and stable and at a cadence when you don't need all those silly game makers to just keep the ball rolling.

EpicEng 8y ago
>There are layoffs in the game industry because there are always layoffs in the game industry. Ramp up when starting a game, hiring through building it, firing after it's out and stable and at a cadence when you don't need all those silly game makers to just keep the ball rolling. If you've been paying attention then you know there is far more than ramping up and back down at play right now in Blizzard.

EpicEng 8y ago

Fortnite is eating their (and many others') lunch, yes, but Activision/Blizzard is a very different entity than what most pre-Activision fans remember. Blizzard is still massively profitable... but it's not enough. Profits are the sole driving force now and I think we're going to see a rapid decline in quality from Blizzard (we have already to some extent.) Don't get me wrong, I get the realities at play here, but Blizzard was a better company (for consumers) before Activision and when Activision was acting more as a partner than a corporate overlord. Many of the stories coming out from ex employees are disheartening. The Diablo fiasco was disheartening, as was the swift cancellation of the competitive HoS league. Blizzard always sold themselves as a "by gamers, for gamers" company, and they were for a long time. That doesn't appear to be the case any longer.

nerdjon 8y ago

I feel like blaming Fortnite for this is a stretch. When there has just been a noticeable decrease in quality of Blizzard games since they have merged. - Heroes tried to to cash in on the loot box craze and from what I have seen has been very negative - Diablo has basically been ignored except for their mobile app (which went on to hurt Blizzard's reputation and just strengthen a competing game, Path of Exile) On the Activision side, there were reports that a good portion of this could be tied to support staff for Destiny 2 no longer being needed. Overwatch seems to actually be doing pretty well, and I would not be surprised if it was the only team not affected by layoffs.

ocdtrekkie 8y ago
Whoa there. Heroes of the Storm has, by far, hands down, the best loot box model in the industry. I'm still irritated Overwatch doesn't use it yet. And please, tell everyone you know in the game industry to steal the monetization model from Heroes. If Heroes is a failure, it's because it doesn't behave badly to try to make you spend money. Heroes hands out loot boxes like candy, I'd say you'll get three or four times as many as Overwatch. And then Heroes also adds a reroll mechanic, where for a trivial gold (currency from doing matches and in-game quests) amount, you can reroll the box up to three times. And as with Overwatch, of course, loot boxes are cosmetics only (except for the very rare hero unlock, which most people aren't getting via loot boxes anyways). I've rarely been dissatisfied with a Heroes lootbox because I can reroll it until it's good, and I've always gotten so many Heroes lootboxes I've never even felt the drive to buy any. And then in addition to the ability to use your duplicate currency to forge the exact cosmetics you want, Heroes is going to re-add direct cash purchase for all skins, so you don't need to buy loot boxes to buy skins. I've bought a number of skins over the years, but never paid for a loot box. Probably the "best" way to spend money on Heroes if you want to (though you have really no reason you have to), is you can get stim packs to increase your XP (no in-game benefit) and gold generation.
- jrockway 8y ago
  I've never been dissatisfied by Overwatch loot boxes. If I play an average amount I usually get every item. If I don't play I don't get any items. Seems fair.

ben_jones 8y ago

Ironically Apex Legends just released as a direct Fortnite competitor and is doing really well post-launch, winning over a large portion of the Twitch community and attracting non-BR players to the game mode.

zamalek 8y ago

> Indirectly this is the cause of these layouts. "Don't you have phones?" Blizzard has been struggling to connect with fans for longer than Fortnite co-op has been a thing. There are some prior employees who have been quite vocal about the situation: they simply don't know to continue printing money without upsetting their fans. The merger with Activision was a very strong signal: how does it make any sense that a beloved publisher that is known for innovative games team up with a publisher who pushes out the same games every year? The straw is a mobile game while everyone was waiting for the next PC (and potentially console) launch. "The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes." Then consider EA, everyone's pet hate (for good reason). Here's a company that has been testing gamers in terms of micro-transactions for years. With Apex, not only have they earned a lot of trust by following Epic's lead, they have put out a title that is genuinely fun and innovative [in the space]. They are listening to the market. > A lot of the air in the games industry is being sucked out by Fortnite. There are currently 317K viewers of Apex on Twitch and 108K Fortnite. This clearly isn't true. There's plenty of air to be had. I'm venturing off-topic here, but the problem with Overwatch is that it's team-based competitive; that attracts a certain type of player-base. If you don't play the ladder (in a year I had about 6 hours total in that toxic hell hole), good luck finding games without quitters. If Blizzard put out a decent Diablo 4, or Starcraft 3, I can almost guarantee they'd find a lot of room to breathe, but a mobile ARPG/HnS was printing money in Asia, so we have that.

hnick 8y ago

Fortnite has funded my free copies of Subnautica and Axiom Verge from the Epic store so that's a win for me.