What a perfect picture of the game industry this paints.

Not a single company wanted to save the staff. They all wanted the IP, the property, the brand.

You all fucking disgust me.

...sets it back many many months...

You have created the biggest failure the industry has seen since ET.

I mean that. The last four years you have wasted people's time and lost them their jobs.

My hearts go out to the poor people who had to work under these utter arrogant idiots.

I do have to wonder how well the administrator did in negotiating the business as a going concern.

I mean, they kept the US offices open, they sold of the only IP not connected with failure, and they hired more staff.

If Free Radical could be saved, then trust me, saving games companies should be easy business.

PS Begbies traynor is a terrible name.

I dont wanna sound harsh or anything, but i think theres worse things in the world than a game shutting down and people going out of work.

I always wonder how honest people are when they say there thoughts go out to those affected.

I mean, really do you? do you really care.

Some people made a shit game - and suffered! Move on.

@Anon, I think most companies were interested in the staff, tech and pre-set-up studio - not the APB product which if it wasn't doomed before RTW's collapse was certainly so after it.

This game has so much sleeping potential, it would be definitely a big mistake to let it just die. Investors should buy it and make to the game it should've been at release and then reopen it.

But these suits are disgusting just, like kicking someone whos on the floor already, give APB a second chance, it fuckin deserves it!

Games are shite now.....the suits try to run the show...........and we all know that lot are fuckin muppets!......100 million to make a game....this story is the same old bullshit as always......Its the talented prog and artists that make these.....not fat bawface mangement!.these are the true proffesionals..not the dicks that try running the show!

Fuck Scottish Games!

Why dont the media report on the real issues here!? It really disgusts me that no one is seeing and reporting on the core issues that are threatening the industry. There is a fundemental flaw in how the games industry is run and structured.
I was part of the 157 redundancies made at RTW on Tues 18th August and since then, all I have read is political propoganda bullshit. The real story here is that over 250 people have lost their job at the drop of a hat without any notice pay or wages that were due to them. This money will have to come out of the tax payers pockets whilst those responsible will move on to do exactly the same again. Dave Jones, Ian Hetherington and Gary Dale have shown utter incompetence and disregard for the people on the ground making the games that pay for their luxury lifestyle.
I know for a fact that all but a few of the RTW staff have alrady left Dundee scattering all over the world. This is now irreversable and truely devestating for Scotland and Dundee. Im not sure the games industry in Scotland will ever recover from this.
This was the 3rd time I have been involved in exactly the same situation, spread over nearly a decade. It's virtually impossible to find anyone in the games industry who hasnt been made redundant at some point. There is a sincere warning there for the future of our indsutry.
Please do some proper journalism and report on the matters that have caused this so that it can be prevented in the future!

Stop trolling Jaz. I don't see any other website even mentioning RTW. For most of the websites out there this is about APB closing down.

You work in the entertainment business and should come to terms with this.

@Jaz: Really sorry to hear about what happened at RTW - it mirrors what happened with us at Midway Newcastle last year. You're absolutely right, this sort of thing shouldn't happen. With both Midway Newcastle and RTW, there wasn't really any help that the government or others could've given to save the studios, other than a buyer coming in... but what should've happened in both cases was for the staff to be paid their notices and pay. "In theory", it's illegal for a company to operate without having reserve funds in their bank account to pay redundancies, as far as I'm told - if that's really the case, why doesn't the government help people to get that money back from those whose responsibility it is? If they've operated illegally, put them behind bars - don't just let them jump ship and create a new startup... that happened with Midway UK and is happening right now with RTW, from what I've heard.

Rant over.

@Grant

It's you Sir who is the troll.

This website is named Develop. It's about Game Development- aimed primarily at Game Developers. The story here is the collapse of the company, not the closing of a game few people are playing.

Show a bit of respect and decency or get back to Eurogamer.

It's primarily about money tbh. Unfortunately the industry is pretty ruthless and has yet to mature. Until it does the management will always come up smelling of roses despite their ineptitude.

People need to think about protecting themselves more from this. The power balance is uneven and leaves hundreds of jobs in the balance. One wrong decision can take a company down a long slippery slope that many employees are unaware of. There is no room for loyalty in the games industry. Jumping a sinking ship and leaving the other suckers behind is my best advise at the moment.

My quick list of points to be aware of:

1 - The arrogance of the top tier of the company.
2 - Middle managements ability to manage properly.
3 - The game being developed and it's intended market. Does it look rubbish and you're half way through? Do the publishers interfere on basic elements like the look and feel of the game? Is the top programmer geek working all the hours fixing bugs from day one? Are other veterans in the industry leaving the company?

I wouldn't let my children work in this industry. It makes games for kids and is run by kids. Just read Lord of the Flies and you'll get a rough idea as to how it works. Good luck to the staff that suffered at RTW.

@DE

You paint a pretty bleak picture of UK development- one which is a bit naive and outdated to be honest.

Yes some companies are poorly run and are managed by people with zero project management training.

Many others are not. Many companies including my own have learnt from the mistakes of the past and improved processes at every stage of development.

Many UK companies have zero crunch and deliver great games on schedule to budget.

It's tough sometimes, but to say the industry is fundamentally broken based upon RTW or past failures is plain wrong.

Quitting a team or project half way through if it doesn't appear to be shaping up is a childish attitude- I'd be well rid of you.

Many great games only come together late in production or Alpha- go read some postmortems of hit games and you'll see this is the case.

Leaving a project midway also rings alarm bells when considering candidates for recruitment- you need a better reason than, "project wasn't going well" in your interview to explain quitting halfway and letting down your team.

So you wouldn't let your children work in this industry- I probably wouldn't hire them if they had the attitude and misconceptions you appear to be displaying.

When a studio works, the team gel, the project is well managed and the final game is good- there's nowhere better to be, IMO. When it's a disaster like RTW its horrible- but sometimes you have to just get back on the horse and go find somewhere better.

@KB

Careful you don't fall from such a great height.

Your naivety may lie in the belief that loyalty has a place in business today.

As I previously stated, it's all about the money. You can have a great team, a studio that works but if a companies arrogance gets in the way of proper decision making then it's a great time to jump ship.

No need to worry, I'd steer my children well clear of you KB and if your kids have the arrogance you clearly display they'll also be oblivious to their pomposity.

You seem very certain the industry has developed and matured. Rather than trying to score cheap points on the interweb against faceless comments maybe you would act like a mature adult and help implement a proper labour union that will help protect employees in the future from the indignity of being faced with sudden redundancy and no money.

@DE

I have to agree with KB here, you sound a bit disillusioned. I'm glad you're content looking out for #1 but you'll soon find the industry will wash you out like a bad cold.

@Chief

You're working for the greater good of humankind rather than yourself. Don't make me laugh. (nice analogy btw, what are you, 12?).

Anyone looking to hire a good, redundant, QA guy?

KB....im afraid I dont agree with you.
You actually seem to prove DE's point.
Those in upper management and director positions see the industry in a completely different way to the guys who ACTUALLY MAKE THE GAMES.
This industry is completely broken. Its stuck somewhere between the usual business model of full time permanent positions and the one used by the film industry, where everyone is on a contract for the duration of the project.
Realistically, there are no permanent positions in the games industry. Companies disappear and reappear on a daily basis, and its all because it's become acceptable as a business model.
I've been around the block a few times so lets not try to make out everyting is lovely and rosey. You being an employer, it obviously works in your favour to paint a picture of job security and excitement - thats how you convince people to work for such meger wage and ridiculous overtime hours UNPAID. Its insane and it certainly would never happen in the 'real' world of business.
Until something is done to protect employees from the crooks that run 'most' (not all) companies, things are just gonna get worse.
There are lots of highly experienced individuals already leaving the industry becuase of the lack of respect and the nomadic lifestyle that you have lead.
After all what is the games industry? It's just People and PCs. It's baffling to think how the main comodity in this industry...'the people'...are treated with such disregard.
Its amazing we've got this far to be honest.
Yes, of course its not all just doom and gloom, but please dont ignore that fact that there are some significant changes needed prevent the likes of the RTW situation occuring on a frequent basis. The ease with which the 250 staff were thrown to the wind was simply disgusting.

....just to add to the issue of loyalty.
I've now been in the industry around 9 years.
I have never left a company, but I have been made redundant without any notice or pay due 3 times now.
During those 9 years, I've been absent from work less than 5 days.
I've also worked countless overtime hours unpaid.
Where has that loyality got me? Absolutely no where...that's where.
After RTW discarded me, my only option has been to move to England where I'll be working away from my family seeing them only on occasional weekends. The pay i've been offered doesnt come close to allowing us to move there as a family.

It's no surprise that there are a huge number of small companies sprouting up everywhere. When you ask people why they are doing this, the most common answer by far, is that they are sick of being messed around by reckless employers.
As a result, the Scottish industry is now made up soley of very small budget game development (with the exception of Rockstar North and possibly Ruffian).
I'd be surprised if the total number of people employed in this sector in Scotland is much above 150 (again excluding Rockstar North).
I can't see how anyone can make that look like a blossoming industry, even through those rosey tinted glasses certain people seem to wear.
Im with DE on this one....rule number one....look after yourself and your family - because you're kidding yourself if you think the person running the company isnt thinking exactly the same.

just wandering. You keep excluding them from your figures. Aren't they part of the Scottish games industry. With them the total count is more like 350. Still not a massive industry true. More just wandering why you dont feel they are part of it?