Yesterday, many news agencies relayed information about massive layoffs at KingsIsle, the company behind the MMOs Wizard101 and Pirate101. Most players were confused as to what really happened and the rumor was later confirmed by our Community Manager, Tom Purdue (Dworgyn/One-Eyed Jack), in an official statement from KingsIsle:
For those of you who asked, a layoff is "the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or (more commonly) a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs."
Sadly, we bid farewell to Leala Ulrich (Professor Greyrose/Bonnie Anne), #JuliafromKI and many other great people, as they leave KingsIsle. They all did a fantastic job and helped Wizard101 and Pirate101 be the awesome games they are today! Players were quick to react and took it to Wizard101 to show their love, gratitude and support. You can use the hashtag #StayStrongKI to send your well wishes and support messages to all employees, former and current.
Regarding the future of the games, I am happy to say that Wizard101 and Pirate101 are safe. As you can see from KingsIsle's statement, Valencia Part 2 will most likely be released on Test Realm next week and Wizard101 has two new updates, slated for this Summer and in the Fall.
As for the next episode of KingsIsle Live, which was supposed to be hosted next week, it was postponed to an undetermined date, which is perfectly understandable. For the time being, stay positive and get your ships ready to set sail to Valencia!