Another day, more layoffs in the games industry.
In a brief statement on its website, Avalanche Studios, known for the once-esteemed Just Cause franchise but having only recently developed woke failures such as RAGE 2, has announced the closure of its New York and Montreal studios for “sustainability” reasons.
Avalanche stated that the layoffs will affect approximately 9 percent of its global workforce. “This is an exceptionally difficult decision, but we believe it’s necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company,” the statement read.
https://avalanchestudios.com/dei-at-avalanche
Coincidentally, Avalanche Studios is among the many progressive Western developers that have prioritized DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) as a central focus in their game design since 2019. Their recent releases, Just Cause 4 on December 4, 2018, and RAGE 2 on May 13, 2019, were poorly received by both critics and players, averaging user scores of 4.8 and 5.8 on Metacritic, respectively.
Of course, nearly everyone in the gaming industry is experiencing mass layoffs and studio closures, but few are willing to explore the underlying reasons. The video game industry has transformed significantly over the past few decades, evolving into a highly commercialized entity integrated into everyday society.
However, recent issues are primarily reflective of political agendas and ideologies.
BlackRock’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) agenda aims to enforce behavioral changes at a corporate level. Alongside groups like Vanguard, they hold substantial stock in nearly every publicly traded company worldwide.
By dangling ESG initiatives like a carrot on a stick, these entities encourage companies to comply with their diversity, equality, and social initiatives. This compliance increases the likelihood of receiving investment capital from hedge funds advocating the ESG agenda.
By producing mundane, sanitized, and inoffensive video games that supposedly cater to “modern audiences” by designing characters to be inclusive and diverse, there seems to be an agenda to transform video games into a vessel for promoting multiculturalism and pandering to marginalized audiences, such as the LGBTQ+.
Despite the fact that the predominant customer base for video games is straight men, companies like Avalanche and many others in recent years have been aligning with BlackRock’s ESG and DE&I agendas. This strategy aims to maximize investments without necessarily having to sell sufficient units of their products.
Players might not immediately notice that their games are being designed by activists who not only lack competence but also have an agenda against the core gaming demographic.
These activists craft unengaging stories filled with forced inclusive character designs that prioritize marginalized groups over anyone else. Questioning this direction often results in being labeled a racist.
ESG and DEI initiatives stifle creativity by deeming certain kinds of creativity inappropriate and offensive. Developers are pressured to design their games around this philosophy, catering to activists rather than gamers.
This results in character designs that are more masculine than feminine and a push to eliminate heteronormative character designs. Attractive women and other elements designed for straight male audiences are now considered highly inappropriate.
In the push for ESG capital funding, women in video games are increasingly depicted as androgynous and more masculine. Revealing clothing or stereotypically feminine outfits are considered problematic and sexist, necessitating “ugly” character designs to secure lucrative ESG investments.
Take a look at the promotional artwork for RAGE 2 to see an example of this trend. Consumers are noticing these shifts, as companies like Niantic consult groups like “GaymerX” to make games more inclusive to queer and non-binary individuals.
A recent update to Pokémon GO, for instance, eradicated female avatars altogether.
Microsoft has launched a product inclusion framework to combat the “sexualization” of women in gaming, while other developers aggressively pander to marginalized groups with androgynous and unattractive character designs.
As more companies seek ESG funding by adhering to these policies, the available funds diminish. ESG investors have been withdrawing from BlackRock’s scheme over the past few years, leaving the gaming industry reliant on an ideological fallacy that’s bound to implode.
Modern games are failing to recoup their skyrocketing development costs. ESG funding has been crucial for game developers, allowing for significant expansion during the COVID era. However, as ESG funds dwindle, games that aren’t successful in the open market result in substantial financial losses for their creators.
Major companies like Microsoft and Sony have recently laid off large numbers of employees and shut down entire development studios. The Embracer Group recently sold off Gearbox at a significant loss and shut down Volition entirely following the failure of the Saints Row reboot.
Even Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive have had to lay off staff.
For example, Ascendant Studios, the developers of Immortals of Aveum, a notable failure of 2023, had to lay off half their employees after their game failed. Similarly, Square Enix’s recent lineup of progressive and censored titles has flopped spectacularly, the company recently disclosed a $140 million loss on canceled game projects as their live-service game “Foamstars” lost over 95% of its players after just two months.
Instead of reflecting on these missteps, Square Enix has opted for a multiplatform release strategy.
A notable instance of their failures revolve around the retroactive censorship of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade just a week before the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, citing “continuity reasons.”
Square Enix also shut down Luminous Productions just months after the release of Forspoken, yet another progressive and inclusive video game. This game was developed in collaboration with consultancy corporations pushing DE&I and ESG agendas such as Sweet Baby Inc.
Sweet Baby Inc’s latest release, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, was a monumental commercial failure, with a peak concurrent player count of merely 287 players. The studio founder linked this outcome to accusations of racism and targeted harassment against the game.
Despite efforts to blame racism alone for its underperformance, the game, which had minimal sales and failed to garner support even from vocal advocates on Twitter, struggled to attract a broad audience due to ineffective marketing by Electronic Arts.
The game’s failure to resonate with consumers played a crucial part in its lack of success. Additionally, its affiliation with Sweet Baby Inc probably boosted its recognition if anything.
In simpler terms, game developers can’t afford to prioritize emotions and sensitivities over creating a product that genuinely meets gamers’ needs anymore. With ESG funding drying up, entire studios are collapsing due to their inability to succeed.
Avalanche Studios is currently in the midst of a significant restructuring phase as they grapple with another substantial setback: the progressive failure of Contraband, published by XBOX Game Studios. This has led to employee layoffs at their Swedish branches in Malmo and Stockholm, as well as their UK-based studio in Liverpool.
Avalanche Studios boasts a two-decade-long history, known for its acclaimed Just Cause series that simply fell right off a cliff with its fourth installment, and the well-received 2015 title, Mad Max. These games were notably devoid of any apparent propaganda and were simply fun. Unlike their recent releases.
It’s ironic that Avalanche is shutting down its New York and Montreal studios, given that the Canadian studio was just opened in October 2023. However, it appears that global economic challenges have swiftly led to the closure of this newly established studio.
Avalanche recently reached a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its Swedish employees, who formed a union with the aim of establishing standardized frameworks concerning key aspects such as salaries, benefits, employee involvement, and career advancement.
Currently, Avalanche is immersed in the development of their upcoming game, Contraband, described as a cooperative adventure set in the fictional realm of 1970s Bayan. Although details about the project, including its release date, remain scarce, the game will likely heavily favor mundane and horrible DEI centric character designs.
It has also been confirmed that Contraband will debut on Game Pass upon its launch. Past instances have shown that a day-one release on Microsoft’s Game Pass dampens actual game sales.
It seems probable that Contraband will follow suit as another underwhelming release from the studio, potentially resulting in additional layoffs as the gaming industry faces challenges of overinflated personnel amidst underwhelming reception, sales, and quality.
