Maxis and Raven Layoffs

Sad news this week from 2 major developers – both Maxis and Raven reported sizable staff cuts were made.  Raven apparently laid off about 1/3 (they were at 180 employees) of its staff, and Activision has commented that the studio is scaling back to only having 2 games in development at any given time.  Shacknews followed up that bad news by reporting that Maxis had also laid off a “sizable” portion of its staff.

This is, sadly, nothing new in the game industry.  I’ve personally been affected by a round of layoffs in the past (from EA in 06), and I have a pretty good idea what these people are going through.  Even if you have an idea that things might not be going well at your studio, it still feels like a punch in the gut when you hear the news.  I was luckily able to land on my feet relatively quickly, and I’m hoping all of the previous Maxis and Raven employees can do the same.

So what’s a smart first step if you’ve been affected?  It’s been said countless times before, but I think it’s always worth repeating – lean on your friends and contacts.  It’s a relatively small industry, and I’ve found that even loose contacts generally like to be helpful.  If there’s a local IGDA chapter in your area, show up to the next meeting and let people know you’re looking.  Call friends or old co-workers at other studios and see if they’re hiring, or if they know anyone that is.  Using a job board like GameJobHunter should be a part of your search, but I’ll freely admit that a personal contact at a studio is always going to be your best lead.

I’m in touch with a lot of studio recruiters who post jobs on our site – if you were at Maxis or Raven and you’re looking for any leads, feel free to drop us a line (support at gamejobhunter dot com).  I’m not fishing for referral fees or anything, I’m happy to set up an intro or pass along a resume if it can help.

Big Week in Orlando Game Development

If you’ve followed this blog at all, you’ve probably figured out by now that I live in Orlando.  It’s not often that there’s a flurry of activity in the local community, but this week has defnitely been the exception.  It’s exciting to see a little bit of game development buzz in the city, so I wanted to highlight some of the big news.

  • Madden NFL 10 released- Everyone knows Madden, but not everyone knows that it’s developed by Orlando’s largest developer, EA Tiburon.
  • Snood ReDood released – The Dreamhive recently partnered with Monkey Gods to release an old classic on Facebook and iPhone.  Snood just launched, and is already quickly claiming the App Store sales charts!  I sampled the online version with one of the creators tonight, and am proud to say I left with a 1-1 split. ;)
  • KIL.A.TON released – Dot Matrix Interactive is made up of several EA vets, and they’ve now released 2 titles for the iPhone.  They just released KIL.A.TON, and it looks very slick!  It’s already getting solid press from sites like TouchArcade.
  • Brenda Brathwaite (follow her on Twitter) speaking at IGDA Orlando on 08/18- Brenda is a well known industry vet who currently teaches game design at SCAD, and it should be an interesting experience to hear her thoughts on design.  The meeting will be held at Full Sail, so stop by if you can!

The Dreamhive is Hiring

We try to spread the word about all of the jobs that get posted on GameJobHunter, but I wanted to spend a little bit of extra time on one that just went up.  It’s from a relatively new company called The Dreamhive – they’ve been around for a few years, and their hard work has brought them all sorts of good news over the past several months.  I’m giving them an extra bit of “highlight love” because I worked with all of the founders at EA Tiburon for several years, and they’re a fantastic group.  All of them are super talented, and nice guys to boot.  ;)

Their continued success is going to be great for the Central Florida game developer community, so I’m glad to help them out by trying to get the word out about any openings they’ve got!  They’re currently looking for a Lead Programmer to join them in Orlando.

They’ve just recently joined up with Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin’s (original founders of Naughty Dog) new studio, Monkey Gods.  They’ve got a bunch of cool things in the works – if you know anyone that’s interested, please pass this on!

Here’s a chance to see some of their work so far:

Dreamhive Year One Reel

Welcome to Disney Interactive, Gameloft and Flashpoint Academy

Usually, I like to do an individual welcome post to each new company that joins the site.  Last week was a busy one, and we saw two new companies and a new school start posting.  I didn’t want to fall too far behind, so I figured I’d welcome them all at once in the form of a great big group hug.

Disney Interactive Studios

Or as my two year old might call them, “Din-sey.”  They started by posting three jobs at two of their studios, Junction Point and Propaganda.  I’ve got a few friends who work at the studio in Burbank, and they’ve had nothing but positive things to say.  Follow them on Twitter (@DIMGrecruiting).

Gameloft

Gameloft has been a leader in the mobile and casual game spaces for years now.  They’ve got offices in New York City and throughout Europe, and it looks like they’re looking to grow the New York studio.  Check out their listings.  They are also on Twitter (@gameloft).

Flashpoint Academy

Flashpoint Academy is a school focusing on all aspects of digital entertainment, including game development.  They’re located in Chicago, which gives them a few extra bonus points in my book.  I’ve got a soft spot for the city – in the summer, anyways.  They’re looking for a Game Audio Instructor.

As always, make sure and check out all the new openings.  If you don’t see a fit for you, please pass them on to anyone that you know that might be interested!