Video game publisher Bandai Namco Holdings is cutting jobs after canceling several games due to low demand, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Tokyo-based company is taking the traditional Japanese approach of cutting jobs and sending employees to rooms with nothing to do, forcing them to leave voluntarily, people familiar with the matter said. said the person, who requested anonymity discussing private information. Affiliate Bandai Namco Studios has moved about 200 of its roughly 1,300 employees to the rooms since April, and nearly 100 people have resigned, people familiar with the matter said. They said they expect more to leave in the coming months.
Japanese companies sometimes use such oidashi beya, or “eviction rooms,” in a country with some of the strictest labor protection laws in the world. Employees are typically not assigned work-related tasks, but they know that their performance will provide managers with ammunition to cut severance packages when they leave. Many employees use their time in such rooms to find other jobs.
Bandai Namco said its goal is not to drive employees out of the company.
“Our decision to discontinue the game is based on a comprehensive assessment of the situation. Some employees may have to wait a while before being assigned their next project, but we do continue to make assignments as new projects become available,” a Bandai Namco representative said. “Bandai Namco Studio does not have an organization like ‘oidashi beya’ designed to force people to leave voluntarily.”
Bandai Namco is a legendary brand in the gaming industry, with its roots dating back to the 1980 Pac-Man arcade game. Its current games include Dragon Ball and Gundam.
Like its rivals, the company is now under pressure to cut costs and adapt to the reduced time users spend playing games in the wake of the pandemic. Smartphones and online games bore the brunt, forcing Bandai Namco to overhaul its gaming lineup, leading to writedowns of ¥21 billion ($141 million, approximately Rs. 1,185 crore) in the three quarters ended December.
This summer, the company further shut down smartphone game Tales of the Rays and said it would remove big-budget online game Blue Protocol in January. It also decided to cancel or suspend development on several games, including one starring characters from the anime “Naruto” and “One Piece,” as well as a project commissioned by Nintendo.
Rival Square Enix Holdings has also canceled several money-losing smartphone games, while Sony Group killed online game Concord two weeks after its launch.
An anonymous website launched last month claimed that Bandai Namco was using various methods to persuade people to leave. A representative said the company was aware of the site but the information was inaccurate, but declined to elaborate.
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