Relic is not 'independent'. They are owned by a UK based investment fund which is known for consolidation and prepackaged debt.
As Relic enters its death throes, I think its a good lesson for people today on WORKING. Work is a job. You are there to make money. Relic on the other hand was clearly run as an adult daycare. Pandering to pandemic woes. Healthy buttery males choosing to 'work' remotely. Playing dungeons and dragons at work. Offering scholarships and internships based on SEXUAL PREFERENCE. Not based on talent or individual drive.
Voted the Best Place to Work in 2022 Canada, well congrats, you don't win these awards by overworking your employees. Their job was to MAKE MONEY. This is the sole reason a business exists.
Instead, SEGA NA employees, soured by the fact SEGA did not give them the same bonuses as SEGA ASia (who actually create titles and games that make money) voted to unionize. Why would you vote to Unionize when you are BLEEDING money. You hold no cards and try to strong arm your employer? Congratulations, enjoy the bread lines.
The skeleton crew left at Relic is now on the clock. These firms don't pour good money into bad. They will continue to eviscerate what is left of salaried talent until they can squeak out a profit. The product will suffer even more.
From the start this game was an absolute disaster. Charging people triple A prices for grade A sh1t. 3 years of development. 350 employees. UNREAL. I am sorry if I am being harsh but they 100% deserve it.
I'm not sur if Sega doesn't share the blame of the game issues. I also don't think Coh3 sold that badly if we look at the market expectation for such specific game genre (RTS).