Layoffs reported at Trion, Rift employees unaffected

It appears that an unconfirmed number of employees at Trion Worlds have just received a terrible end to the week. According to reports from both IGN and Kotaku, between 70% and 80% of the company have been let go this afternoon. Update: Trion has been in contact and stated that  the rumored figures are a large exaggeration and do not reflect the restructuring accurately.

Following a disappointing launch and lackluster reception at the hands of critics, Defiance has struggled despite recently clocking up over a million registered users. The TV series has fared significantly better by comparison, with SyFy recently renewing the show for a second season. 

Likewise, RIFT’s Storm Legion expansion has had difficulty in bringing gamers back to Telara. The firm recently announced a free-to-play transition in response to ‘player demand’.

Following an enquiry into the rumors, Trion Worlds provided us with the following statement:

“To best position Trion in a rapidly changing industry, we have reorganized our teams and are expanding our free to play offering.  With Defiance, we delivered a great game that more than one million gamers registered to play and continue to enjoy.  As we progress from launch to ongoing development of the game, we are adjusting our staffing levels to deliver new content and improved features. RIFT, and our other titles in development, were unaffected by these changes.  We are very much looking forward to the free to play release of RIFT and are excited by the other new titles currently in development.”

Our thoughts and sympathies are with those affected at this time.

Gareth “Gazimoff” Harmer, Senior Contributing Editor