Dwarf Fortress creator blasts execs behind brutal industry layoffs: 'I think they're horrible… greedy, greedy people'

Dwarf Fortress creators Tarn and Zach Adams sit for an interview at GDC 2024.
(Image credit: Wes Fenlon)

You don't have to worry about Tarn Adams' millionaire status turning him corporate any time soon. At this year's GDC, the Dwarf Fortress maker came out swinging against a brutal climate of layoffs, cancellations, and general downsizing across the games industry, declaring that the executives responsible can "all eat shit." Just in case you needed a reason to like Dwarf Fortress even more.

"Three to four years from now, what are [Dwarf Fortress] sales looking like?" pondered Adams in a chat with PCG, "What kind of decisions do we have to make [with] burn rates and all that stuff?" Considering the possibility of making those hard decisions some day down the line, Tarn wondered if the experience would give him "more empathy for the people that lay people off.

"No, I don't f***ing think so," he concluded. "They can all eat s***, I think they're horrible, and I think they're bad people."

Which is a pretty definitive statement all by itself, but Adams continued: "These decisions, they don't sound practical. They sound like they're driven by greedy, greedy people trying to make some kind of venture capital thing work out.

"There is this stench of rot at the top of things where the reasons people get laid off is because of funding structures and bad incentives and stupidity," said Adams, damning execs for firing people "that they shouldn't fire because their company will fall apart, but I guess maybe that helps someone's bottom line somewhere or gets the right air inside the right golden parachute."

So I think we can safely locate Adams and Dwarf Fortress in the For Devs/Against Layoffs column on our collective spreadsheet, but should we be worried that Adams reckons he might have to make some tough choices in the years to come? Well, maybe, although I admit I struggle to imagine writing a headline along the lines of "Microsoft cuts 1,900 jobs at Activision and Xbox" about the brothers behind Dwarf Fortress. 

But for now, Tarn and Zach Adams say it's full-steam ahead with DF's development and incoming Adventure Mode update, which hits this April. "[We're] still fundamentally excited about what's possible, and not feeling encumbered ourselves by any of that… we're gonna keep shining the light forward, and hopefully continuing to inspire people." 

Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

With contributions from
Read more
sniper elite 5 cover
Sniper Elite CEO reckons Swen Vincke is right to snarl at short-sighted publishers: 'You could argue that their business at senior level isn't making games… their business is managing their shareholders' perceptions'
Mark Darrah
BioWare veteran calls out the 'cruelty' of fans celebrating layoffs: 'You are crossing a line, and you're probably attacking the wrong person anyway'
Chai, the protagonist of Hi-Fi Rush, sits slumped against a console with his eyes dulled.
It's still grim out there, even if you aren't AAA: Industry report claims that 1 in 10 respondents were laid off in 2024—with 'narrative' roles taking the biggest overall hit
Lucanis enjoying a cup of coffee
'On a pirate ship, they'd toss the captain overboard': Larian head of publishing tears into EA after BioWare layoffs waste 'institutional knowledge'
Atomfall screenshot
Rebellion CEO puts the studio's recent avoidance of layoffs down to control of scope and cost: 'Sometimes we say, guys, this game's too big'
Swen Vincke presenting Game of the Year at the 2024 Game Awards
Larian boss Swen Vincke calls out pretty much the entire videogame industry at The Game Awards
Latest in Sim
A citizen of a city
A lot is going on for Cities: Skylines' 10th anniversary—from freebies to new creator packs—but there's still a big ol' elephant in the room
Staring eyes in a face covered in oil
Death Stranding 2's PS5 release date is in June, let's hope it doesn't take 8 months to hit PC this time
Cities: Skylines 2 screenshot - street level at night
Cities: Skylines 2's asset editor remains a distant dream: Colossal Order is still working on it but says it's 'proven more technically challenging than initially anticipated'
Town in Tales of Seikyu with two townsfolk sat on the stairs
Tales of Seikyu is just your regular farming simulator, apart from the fact I've got shapeshifting abilities and I'm engaged to a pretty persistent kappa
A spacecraft flying near the sun in Elite: Dangerous
Elite Dangerous just implemented an entire system colonisation mechanic, in case you really want to get off this planet
Birds in a garden in Birdfull
This cosy birdwatching idle game has me leaving behind my binoculars and enjoying the hobby from the comfort of my desktop
Latest in News
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Recently appointed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Here comes Intel's new CEO: a semiconductor veteran that won the same prestigious award as Jensen Huang and Lisa Su
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'