Baldur's Gate 3 publisher thinks developers should become pirates to clean up BioWare's act

Recent layoffs at BioWare, the studio behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard, have sparked widespread conversation about the current state of the gaming industry. Larian Studios' publishing director, Michael Daus, has again taken to social media to address this issue, emphasizing the importance of valuing employees and holding leadership accountable for job losses.

Daus argues that significant layoffs between or after projects are avoidable. He stresses the critical role of retaining institutional knowledge within development teams for future projects. While acknowledging the financial pressures that sometimes necessitate "trimming the fat," he questions the excessive efficiency drive of large corporations, suggesting it's counterproductive except in cases of consistently successful releases. Layoffs, he points out, are a drastic cost-cutting measure, not a solution.

He directly criticizes the strategic decisions made by upper management, arguing that they ultimately burden lower-level employees. Using the analogy of a pirate ship, he suggests that those responsible for poor strategic choices should bear the consequences, not the rank-and-file. He concludes that the video game industry needs a more responsible leadership model.