edit: after some thoughts and very necessary deep breathing to not succumb to the tears, i come here to give my two cents
first of all, natalie is (so far) the only person laid off, i've seen some say it was everyone which is a bit too exaggerated
letting one of your employees go as a small studio is already bad, but by the way natalie reported, it was also unprofessional - what do you mean you are let go (already super bad) and on top of that the game you worked on has just launched (you are basically told that you are not useful anymore) and you also dont have access to the work you put into the project (so you have nothing to put into the portfolio, the one you need to find a new job); i'd say a "fuck you" in the face would be politer
and i wouldnt be so vocal about this if this wasnt so insidious - when riot games laid off 500+ of their staff and notified them through a fucking tweet i was traumatized for life; and im a fan, a fucking random in the internet, it cant compare with what the actual people being terminated feel and it still hurts, it hurts immensely because these games dont come to exist out of thin air
maybe we should be grateful that was not as bad as the riot layoffs, right? but if it can get worse it also can get better, i can be better and it will be better
i understand no studio or company is immune to The Market or management mistakes, but the bare fucking minimum is to treat your ex employee with respect, wasnt Giant Squid that took pride in saying they treated their devs right? where's that? i'd love to see in action
now let me ask you a very simple question, would you ever work again for a company that mistreated you? Natalie carried SotS with her astonishing work as an environment artist and Giant Squid lost her forever, simple as that (and they know it)
i could be less stubborn about this, but ever since the nightmarish experience i had with riot back in 2024 (which made me quit the game and fandom altogether)... i dont want to experience this ever again, i dont wanna quit, i dont wanna feel like im engaging with a product instead of a piece of art - i still respect GS craft and i know how hard it can be but man..... the bare minimum..... the bare minimum......
i'd love to hear Giant Squid at least acknowledging their mistake, not only in respect for natalie but also to the fans and community, i think they owe us this one
