On Labor Day, we reported that Crowfall team ArtCraft had suffered a round of layoffs. While ArtCraft itself declined to comment on the record about the extent of the damage, one affected developer was more candid on social media, blaming a lack of marketing and describing layoffs that came without notice: “[T]he guys that made the game are not on the game anymore,” he said. “RIP Crowfall.”
ArtCraft’s Gordon Walton has now piped up on the game’s official site, confirming the layoffs and attributing it to switching gears to live service production rather than a low population as the MMO community seems to have already accepted. “[W]e lost some teammates as we shifted from launch mode to a live service operation,” Walton put it.
Walton’s missive also communicates that the remaining team is working on Eternal Kingdom loading issues and additional design work.
“[W]e have several new gameplay designs currently under community review and more coming. The designs for our improved Chat system, Group Loot options, Campaign Reward requirements, Scaling & Testing, and EK player management have received a ton of great feedback. We look forward to getting your input on the upcoming set of designs including Map improvements, Campaign Rules/Modifications, and Combat improvements! We will continue to share design documents for all major updates going forward.”
