Workers Laid off After Failing to Publish War Game

The News and Observer

Raleigh video-game company Atomic Games recently laid off dozens of workers after failing to find a new publisher for its controversial game about the Iraq war, "Six Days in Fallujah."

CEO Peter Tamte wouldn't disclose how many of the company's 75 workers were laid off but said Monday that more than a dozen remain after the staff was "substantially reduced." He also dismissed rumors about Atomic's imminent demise.

"The rumors are being spread by people who would like to see our studio close," Tamte said. "There are no plans to shut down Atomic Games."

Japanese video-game publisher Konami was financing "Six Days," which isn't finished. Konami backed out in April after families of veterans who were hurt or killed in Iraq became irate when Atomic announced plans to realistically depict one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Konami had planned to release the game next year.

Atomic officials, who defended the project by stressing that the company has been working with Marines who fought at Fallujah, have been seeking a new partner without success.

"Due to a mixture of fears about the edgy subject matter of 'Six Days in Fallujah,' as well as low video-game sales this summer, we have been unable to secure full-scale funding from a major publisher for 'Six Days in Fallujah,'" the company said in a prepared statement.

Video-game sales nationwide have fallen for five months, including a 29 percent dip in July, market research firm NPD Group reports.

Atomic said development of "Six Days" "will continue with a smaller team that will be funded by our sister company, Destineer." Destineer is based in Minneapolis.

"We wish to assure the dozens of Marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on," Atomic's statement continued. "The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world."

Tamte said Atomic employees are working on "core technology" that will be used in "Six Days" and other video games.

"There is a team hard at work at this very moment in Raleigh," he said.

The Triangle hub

The Triangle is a video-game industry hub where about 30 companies employ more than 1,000 workers.

Alexander Macris, president of Durham-based Themis Group, which publishes the online video-game magazine The Escapist, said he doesn't anticipate other Triangle game companies initiating layoffs unless they encounter "unexpected misfortune."

Atomic's cutbacks were largely the result of Konami's pullback in the face of controversy, Macris said. The industry's sales slump was a secondary factor in that it hurt Atomic's efforts to line up a new partner.

In the past, Atomic has declined to put a price tag on the development of "Six Days." Such a game can cost more than $10 million to get to market, although it is unclear how much Atomic -- and Konami, before it pulled out -- invested in the game.

A mature view of games

Tamte defended the game at the Triangle Game Conference held in Raleigh in April, arguing that the company was raising the artistic level of video games.

"Every form of media has grown by producing content about current events, content that's powerful because it's relevant," Tamte told the sympathetic crowd. "Movies, music and TV have helped people make sense of the complex issues of our times.

"Are we really just high-tech toymakers," he continued, "or are we media companies capable of producing content that is as relevant as movies, music and television?"

"Six Days" focuses on the November 2004 battle in which thousands of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops assaulted Fallujah. The battle, which had soldiers battering down doors to confront the enemy, made that month the most deadly of the war for U.S. troops. An unknown number of civilians were killed.

Atomic moved to Raleigh in 2006, although at that time it was operating under the Destineer banner.

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