Sat, Nov 22, 2008 | 09:18 GMT

Gearbox lays-off in Hell’s Highway’s wake, Pitchford admits “internal strategy” shift

Gearbox has laid-off an unspecified number of staff, apparently in the wake of lower than expected sales of Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway.

Studio head Randy Pitchford has released a statement, playing down the matter and confirming that its Sega Aliens games and Take-Two’s Borderlands are alive and well.

“Over the last six weeks, we’ve been adjusting our internal strategy to move from being about Opportunity, Ambition and Growth to a strategy that is oriented towards Quality, Focus and Performance,” he said.

“A number of recent tactical decisions here are a reflection of this new commitment and strategy. The timing of these tactical decisions relates more to natural maneuvering that all studios should only consider after they finish a big effort than anything else.”

There’s lots more detail on Kotaku.

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6 comments

morriss
22/11/08, 9:23 am

I thought the game was ‘ok’ for what it was, not exactly my thing, but it wasn’t too bad.

sickpuppysoftware
22/11/08, 11:41 am

Sadly I think that was the problem. A lot of people thought “that looks ok” rather than “OMG WTF teh reel next gen!!!!!!11!!1!”

rainer
22/11/08, 6:44 pm

A couple of things buried it;
1) WW2 fatigue/backlash
2) It’s a strategic shooter not a straight FPS
3) Got decent reviews but little marketing push/hype which allowed 1) to fester.

So the game was quickly forgotten about, its a shame for Gearbox as this sort of thing can kill independent devs, fingers crossed Aliens: Colonial Marines and Borderlands come through otherwise their goose is cooked.

morriss
22/11/08, 6:55 pm

Rainer’s pretty much bang on.

Alpha Male Stu
22/11/08, 7:13 pm

Because WW2 fatigue has obviously held COD5 back so much!

OrphanageExplosion
23/11/08, 9:38 am

I just found it to be boring and tedious.