When Microsoft laid off 1,900 staff from its gaming arm eariler this year, one of those affected was Devann “LadyDevann” McCarthy. Since she was laid off from Bethesda, the former Fallout 76 community manager has been busy planning out what’s next for her, and says she doubts she’d have dealt with being let go as well if it hadn’t been for the support of the Fallout community.
While everyone that’s been let go by the likes of Microsoft, PlayStation and the far too large list of other companies in the games industry that’ve cut staff over the past little while is important, McCarthy’s dismissal was arguably more noticiable than most, simply due to the huge outpouring of love she recieved from the community she helped cultivate. Thankfully, in the months since that point, it seems like the support from Fallout fans for the ex-CM hasn’t let up.
Speaking to VG247 for an upcoming feature, McCarthy outlined how the Fallout community has helped her stay positive as she’s worked through what, naturally, sounds like it’s been a time of substantial change and upheaval in her life. “The community has been so supportive, they really have stayed right next to me and gone out of their way to make me feel cared for,” she said, “I still get messages from them checking in on me and seeing how I am doing, and I’ve been getting a lot more visitors to my C.A.M.P. in-game!”
“The support and love really means so much to me, as prior to working as the Fallout [community manager], I was a host on GameStop TV and Twitch streamer,” she continued, “GameStop TV is no longer around, and I’m having to essentially start fresh with content creation and live streaming since I’ve been offline for so many years. The industry is in a rough spot [right now] with many layoffs and little job postings.
“Without the support from the Fallout community, I don’t know that I could have navigated this layoff with the same optimistic outlook on life that I have currently. I know they have high expectations of me, and that has been the motivational fire that is propelling me forward into my next adventure. I want to create and work on something that they are proud to support and be a part of, something that creates meaningful positive change in this industry as a whole. They are my inspiration and motivation!”
LadyDevann concluded that while this next project, which isn’t Fallout-related, “is a massive undertaking”, she’s not “scared to present it to the world”, but rather excited to eventually be able to show it to people.
While not everyone’s lucky enough to have a gaming community they helped to make thrive behind them, it is nice to know that in cases like this, fans and players are often willing to go out of their way to stay in touch on a human level with developers they’ve come to know and appreciate.
Especially during, as McCarthy alluded to, such a difficult time for the industry as a whole.