Bandai Namco – writer of video games together with Elden Ring, Tekken 8, and the just lately launched Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO – is repordely looking for to scale back its workers headcount, having determined to “both cancel or pause improvement” of a number of titles.
That is in accordance with a report from Bloomberg, which alleges that the corporate is “sending staff to rooms the place they’re given nothing to do, placing stress on them to depart voluntarily.”
The report claims that Bandai Namco has moved “about 200” of its round 1,300 staff to such rooms – recognized in Japan as “oidashi beya, or ‘expulsion rooms'” – to date, with “practically 100” having resigned.
The aim of such rooms, in a rustic with strict employment legal guidelines that make laying people off en-masse within the method we have sadly change into accustomed to seeing to the Western video games business tough for corporations to do, is to push workers to depart in a style that may cut back the severance they’re going to be paid.
This reportedly comes because the writer has “determined to both cancel or pause improvement of a number of video games, together with ones that function characters from animes Naruto and One Piece, in addition to a mission commissioned by Nintendo”. That appears to be the extent of the small print on supply proper now, so sorry anime lovers and Ninty stans.
Bandai Namco beforehand opted to close down MMO Blue Protocol again in January, earlier than a worldwide launch developed by Amazon Video games may even occur.
“Our selections to discontinue video games are based mostly on complete assessments of the scenario,” a Bandai Namco spokesperson informed Bloomberg, “Some staff may have to attend a sure period of time earlier than they’re assigned their subsequent mission, however we do transfer ahead with assignments as new initiatives emerge.
“There isn’t a group like an ‘oidashi beya’ at Bandai Namco Studios designed to stress individuals to depart voluntarily.”
Following its launch final week, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO – developed by Spike Chunsoft and printed by Bandai – earned fairly constructive critiques when it got here out final week, you’ll be able to learn ours right here.
