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Former OMGPOP employees speak out following closure

Sinan Kubba — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:15:00 EST

Immediately following its closure by Zynga, the scene in the OMGPOP office was not what you might expect. As anonymous ex-employees told Business Insider, the Draw Something studio was determined to enjoy its final day. That meant booze, loud music, and defacing Zynga paraphernalia.

"Most layoffs are sad," one former employee told Business Insider. "You imagine big corporate settings where security is there to lead people out of the office so they don't make a scene. This was the opposite. Music was being played loudly and people were ripping up Zynga hoodies and t-shirts. Anything that was Zynga was completely left there. The sentiment felt positive."

That's not to say there wasn't bitterness beyond the ripped clothes. Former VP of Outreach Ali Nicolas took to Twitter to chastise Zynga for its "idiotic execution" and reminding her "how not to operate a business."

Like Nicolas, some employees expressed their ire to Business Insider. One employee said OMGPOP was "totally under-utilized," while another felt no-one other than Zynga CEO Mark Pincus was "really happy" about the studio being part of the company.

OMGPOP was one of three studios understood to be closed as Zynga laid off 18 percent of its staff this week. Zynga acquired OMGPOP for a reported $200 million in March 2012 following the New York-based studio's phenomenal success with social doodling app Draw Something. However, the acquisition wasn't able to survive Zynga's continuing struggles, despite OMGPOP releasing Draw Something 2 only two months ago.

Former OMGPOP employees speak out following closure originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga layoffs impact OMGPOP, studio reportedly closed

Sinan Kubba — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 03:30:00 EST

Following Zynga's massive layoffs, it's emerged the company may have shuttered Draw Something studio OMGPOP. As SiliconBeat spotted, the studio noted via Twitter yesterday "was the last day at Zynga for many OMGPOP staff," and former VP of Outreach Ali Nicolas tweeted she'd been laid off and that the "OMGPOP office is closed." Meanwhile, former Senior Community Manager Joseph Alminawi said he and "most of the studio" were laid off, perhaps indicating some staffers were relocated.

Zynga confirmed yesterday it's laying off 18 percent of its staff. The announcement came shortly after a report by AllThingsD noting closures at Zynga's Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York offices. OMGPOP, based in New York, looks to be one of the studios referred to.

Today's news comes just over a year after Zynga acquired OMGPOP for a reported $200 million, and only a month or so after Draw Something 2 was released. Former OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter left Zynga back in April. As for Zynga itself, 2013 had already brought high-level departures, studio closures, and significant losses.

We've reached out to Zynga for confirmation of studio closures.

Zynga layoffs impact OMGPOP, studio reportedly closed originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Jun 2013 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HMV closing 37 more stores, 464 layoffs

Sinan Kubba — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:00:00 EST

The deluge of bad news isn't over for UK retailer HMV, with 37 more stores confirmed to be closing in addition to the 66 announced earlier this month. These further closures are resulting in 464 lost jobs, making a post-administrative total of at least 1,454 layoffs.

HMV, one of the UK's most prominent high street sellers of games, went into administration last month after failing to acquire $483 million to finance debts. Restructuring company Hilco then took on the retailer's debt. This latest round of store closures means HMV's UK high street arm will be cut by almost half to 116 stores in four to six weeks' time.

Continue reading HMV closing 37 more stores, 464 layoffs

HMV closing 37 more stores, 464 layoffs originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HMV facing 66 store closures, 930 layoffs

Sinan Kubba — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST

HMV, a multimedia chain and one of the UK's top high street game retailers, is closing 66 of its 220 stores, with 930 employees losing their jobs as a result. Deloitte, the company's administrators, said the closures should occur within the next one to two months.

"This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of securing the business' future as a going concern," said Joint Administrator Nick Edwards. "We continue to receive strong support from staff and are extremely grateful to them for their commitment during an understandably difficult period. All other key stakeholders remain very supportive and I continue to be hopeful of securing a future for the restructured business."

HMV also posted a statement on its Facebook page this morning, echoing Deloitte by saying the closures give the retailer the best chance possible of a viable future on the high street:

"As you may be aware, a number of our stores in the UK have been earmarked for closure. This decision has not been taken lightly and, though very sad and regrettable, it is necessary to give HMV the best possible chance of emerging from administration and having a future on the high street. We'd like to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of affected colleagues, who continue to work with great passion and dedication, and this decision in no way reflects on their considerable efforts on behalf of HMV. We also sincerely thank our customers in these locations for their valued support over many years, who we hope will continue to shop at HMV."

HMV entered administration in January after failing to secure $483 million for debt financing. Hilco, a British restructuring company, subsequently took on the debt and is expected to take over the company. HMV's struggles have headlined a tough 2013 so far for British games retail, with Play.com closing its retail operations and Blockbuster UK also entering administration.

Continue reading HMV facing 66 store closures, 930 layoffs

HMV facing 66 store closures, 930 layoffs originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ shuts down publishing in Italy and Spain [Update]

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:30:00 EST

THQ has closed its offices in Italy and Spain and hired an outside distributor, Koch Media, to ship its games throughout those regions instead. The closures follow a "strategic review" of THQ's operations in Italy and Spain, according to Annie Sullivan, THQ's managing director of European market development.

"We were looking for a distribution partner who has the most effective networks locally to market THQ's products," Sullivan said. "I'm excited for the opportunities that THQ's partnership with Koch Media represents and am looking forward to working together on successful launches of our forthcoming products."

We have contacted THQ for more information on the European closures.

Update: THQ has responded, noting that these are not "new" actions, but are new distributor agreements in Spain and Italy: "As part of the previously announced restructuring of its global publishing business, THQ made changes to its publishing operations in Europe. As a result of those changes, the company will now utilize Koch Media as its publishing distributor in Spain. In Italy, the company continues to utilize a distribution company, and a new agreement is in place with Koch Media for that region.

"These are not new actions, just updates on previous decisions and new agreements with specific territory distribution partners."

THQ shuts down publishing in Italy and Spain [Update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic's Mike Gamble blames studio closures on 'stupid acquisitions'

Mike Schramm — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST

Epic Games' European head, Mike Gamble, says there's a simple reason we're seeing so many big game companies close triple-A studios lately: stupidity. "It's happened because of stupid acquisitions," he said in London recently. Quite a few studios have seen shutdowns, either after or even during big game releases, and Gamble even specifically calls out Disney for buying and then closing down Split/Second developer Black Rock Studio. "What was the point of a well-known children's IP holder buying a hardcore racing studio?," asked Gamble. "It doesn't make sense."

Disney would probably argue that it wanted to expand its console division away from just children's IP, but of course the results bear Gamble's hindsight-improved assessment out on that one. Still, he also says there's an upside to all of the bad news. Especially in Europe, according to Gamble, a lot of developers from studios that have been acquired and closed are instead starting their own companies with different priorities.

"There's a sea change in the European industry," said Gamble. "People are not looking to create companies where they're going to buy Ferraris. They're looking to create companies where they're having a great time and making nice money, but really doing the cool stuff."

Epic's Mike Gamble blames studio closures on 'stupid acquisitions' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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