The Entire Humble Games Team Has Reportedly Been Laid Off - PlayStation Universe
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The entire Humble Games team has reportedly been laid off, Humble Games blames difficult economic times as a reason for the cuts.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/19627558

The entire team from publisher Humble Games has reportedly been laid off, according to now former employees posts on Twitter and LinkedIn. 36 developers are reportedly impacted by the cuts.

  • Codex@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Remember when Humble Bundle was actually a charity and not just a charity-themed storefront owned by IGN?

    Well, technically owned by IGN, a subsidiary of Ziff-Davis, formerly J2 Global, formerly Ziff-Davis.

    I’m sure firing what was left of the employees with any commitment to the concept of HB and folding the brand under the rest of your e-commerce verticle will have no further adverse effects on the quality or usability of HB as a service.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      01·
      2 months ago

      Remember when Humble Bundle was actually a charity and not just a charity-themed storefront owned by IGN?

      Do charities normally get buy-out offers from for-profit businesses?

      I’m sure firing what was left of the employees with any commitment to the concept of HB and folding the brand under the rest of your e-commerce verticle will have no further adverse effects on the quality or usability of HB as a service.

      Vulture capitalism at its finest. Yeah, eventually you’ve picked the carcass clean. But you just turn those profits over into another buyout and begin the feast anew.

      • Codex@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Do charities normally get buy-out offers from for-profit businesses?

        Fair point, although actually… 🤔 I mean non-profits do get bought out (and/or abused) for their good optics. See "Open"AI.

        It’s just sad, looking up the company on Wikipedia (to get the buyout history right) reminded me of the very first humble indie bundles (which I participated in) and what a nice feeling it was to directly support indie studios and a good charitable cause. We could get into “consumer-activism” and what a joke/paradox that is, and maybe we should because look at what Humble Bundle is today but I still think it started out as something good.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
          01·
          2 months ago

          About a century ago, there was a reaction to the industrial revolution via the Arts and Crafts Movement that inspired a lot of the modern artistic styles. That kind of anti-industrialism and peer collaboration echoed through the original indie gaming scene and still kinda exists today. Its a much more pleasant vision of consumerism than the soulless corporate shit we’re deluged with advertisements by.

          I don’t begrudge anyone who feels sad about Humble Bundle’s collapse. But I just feel like we’re being inundated by video games, particularly post-COVID. The market is so over-saturated and I don’t really feel like I’m being charitable when my email is full to bursting with these promotions. I just don’t think the thing we’re lacking right now is more cheap video games.