Geoff Keighley briefly, and barely, addressed the current, historic variety of layoffs which have hit the online game business already this yr, after failing to take action for months. However earlier than I might even give the man some credit score for doing the naked minimal, he rotated and began promoting his subsequent huge online game occasion, seemingly revealing the true purpose he lastly determined to tweet about layoffs in any respect.
I don’t want to elucidate who Geoff Keighley is in 2024. In case you are studying Kotaku or some other gaming information web site, you already know. He has develop into, for higher or for worse, the unofficial spokesperson of the online game business. Keighley’s annual occasions usually function huge bulletins of recent video games from small and enormous builders. He loves to speak about how gaming is so nice at any time when he’s given the possibility, which is much extra usually than anyone individual deserves.
But, Keighley can be seemingly unwilling or unable to deal with any severe issues within the online game business. Lately, Keighley angered many individuals when he took to Twitter to hawk an AI-powered scent machine in the course of catastrophic developer layoffs.
I’m nice with individuals posting dumb shit and promoting bizarre stuff all they need. It was the truth that he determined to tweet about AI scent machines on the worst attainable time. He hadn’t stated something about grasping execs ruining individuals’s lives as a way to make the numbers go up and make a number of wealthy individuals even richer. He was rightly known as out for this horrible blunder and afterwards principally tweeted huge, generic information about video video games.
Keighley talks about layoffs, lastly
However then, one thing occurred! On March 12, at round 10 p.m. EST, Keighley truly tweeted in regards to the layoffs taking place within the online game business. In actual fact, he posted two tweets about it!
I used to be joyful to see him say something in any respect in regards to the 8,000+ layoffs which have hit the sport business this yr alone. Nevertheless, about 13 hours later, on March 13, Keighley tweeted about Summer time Video games Fest 2024, asserting dates and occasions for the upcoming showcase. This occurred on the similar time press releases have been despatched out and retailers, together with Kotaku, started protecting the information.
“Ahh,” I assumed to myself, “In order that’s why you tweeted about layoffs final night time.”
After I first noticed his layoff tweets, I assumed they have been fairly dang weak. Neither immediately addressed any firm, government, or causes for why layoffs have been taking place. He simply referred to a “heartbreaking time” for builders and signaled boosted a web site that has some sources for locating sport business jobs. It felt very calculated.
The tweets felt like his manner of barely recognizing that layoffs are dangerous, whereas sidestepping the danger of souring his relationships with the publishers he depends on for large unique trailers. And the tweet made it clear that making video games is nice, in truth, right here’s a hyperlink to getting again into the business. What’s flawed with it? Why are so many individuals getting laid off time and again? Don’t fear about that! Get again to work making shiny toys for me to promote!
On the time, I didn’t say something as a result of I wished to offer him the good thing about the doubt. Maybe he’d say extra. Maybe he’d do extra. These tweets weren’t nice, however the figurehead of gaming addressing, even tepidly, how dangerous layoffs are in 2024 was one thing to rejoice. This would possibly simply be the beginning and he might assist steer the dialog and make this an even bigger, extra public problem.
Nope! That’s not the case. As an alternative, it was clearly simply him preemptively addressing the elephant within the room so he didn’t look too horrible when he introduced his huge new gaming occasion lower than a day later.
And so, right here we’re. Keighley was capable of do the naked minimal and use it as a smokescreen whereas he prepares to get everybody enthusiastic about extra trailers for extra video games made by people who find themselves overworked, underpaid, and dealing with limitless layoffs. Final night time, following these layoff tweets, I questioned if he’d deal with the problem head-on throughout his subsequent present. Now, I do know: Don’t wager on it.
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