"Baldur's Gate 3 Publisher Urges Developers to Pirate BioWare's Tactics"

The gaming industry has recently been rocked by news of layoffs at BioWare, the creators behind the much-anticipated Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This development has sparked widespread discussion about the current state of the industry, particularly regarding the treatment of employees and the decision-making processes at the top.

Michael Daus, the publishing director at Larian Studios, has been vocal on social media about the issue of layoffs. He argues strongly for the value of retaining employees, emphasizing that the responsibility should fall on decision-makers rather than the workforce. Daus points out that it's possible to avoid mass layoffs between or after projects, stressing the importance of preserving institutional knowledge for the success of future endeavors.

He critiques the common corporate justification of "trimming the fat" as a means to cut redundancies, especially under financial pressure. Daus questions the necessity of such aggressive efficiency in large corporations, suggesting that it might be justified if companies were consistently releasing successful titles. However, he argues that using layoffs as an aggressive cost-cutting measure is not the solution but rather an extreme approach.

Daus further criticizes the strategies developed by those in higher management positions, noting that it's typically the employees at the bottom who suffer the consequences. He humorously suggests that video game companies should be managed like pirate ships, where the captain—symbolizing upper management—would be held accountable for the ship's direction and success.