The Secret World

It’s not a good day for game developers, as the studio behind The Secret World is also announcing a round of layoffs for their staff. Although the MMORPG had a good amount of marketing, the company is still exercising cost-cutting measures.

If staff cuts are happening this soon after the game has released, it’s likely just another sign that a $50 price tag, added to monthly subscriptions, won’t work for most online games.

GamePlanet has the following statement Funcom, which addresses the company’s setback:

“As we announced in the stock notice that went out on August 10, Funcom is in the process of reducing operational costs and this process includes temporary layoffs as well as other initiatives,” read a statement from the company.

“As we are currently in the middle of this process we cannot provide any further comment at the present time. Rest assured however that we have long-term plans for the company and that we remain fully committed to all of our games.”

Hopefully for the staff, the “temporary” layoffs are just that, and the company moves forward with a new project.

Additionally, the referenced stock notice made a note that The Secret World‘s Metacritic score of 72 also played a factor, as the company called it a “low” figure. Although Metacritic’s mafia-like stranglehold on publishers and developers isn’t a helpful element, various reviews did note the the game had various issues that held it back.

Source: GamePlanet