This Is The End

With the recent announcement that 3dfx was to break up and sell its patents and other assets to rivals NVIDIA, much of the attention so far has naturally been focused on what will happen to 3dfx's technologies and the famous Voodoo brand name. However, behind the headlines are real people who are facing an uncertain future this Christmas. We have confirmed with Andrew Humber, PR Manager for 3dfx's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division, that he was made redundant along with the rest of the 3dfx EMEA staff last Friday.

They will be available "on and off" over the not-so-festive season to "deal with outstanding issues" as the company wraps up its business, but after January 15th the European offices will be closing down completely. And while NVIDIA have already offered around a hundred 3dfx employees (mostly engineers) new jobs in the USA, there doesn't appear to be any similar offer on the table yet for the company's overseas staff, leaving many of them searching for a new job over Christmas. The only silver lining for this big black cloud is that "for a lot of people, watching 3dfx go through the ringer as it has been for the past year has been like watching a sick relative, so it's actually a bit of a relief to have some closure on it all". It's not much of a consolation though...

Owners of 3dfx hardware will also be wondering where this deal leaves them, as NVIDIA have made it clear that they will not be taking on any of 3dfx's liabilities or responsibilities. Until January 15th multi-language support will continue to be available through 3dfx EMEA, while the parent company in the USA will offer technical support until February 15th, with any warranty obligations continuing to be met. Beyond that things are less certain, although Andrew told us that 3dfx "are working out details for the long-term support of products, and this will be announced shortly". So Voodoo users should not be left high and dry by the company's collapse.

Hopefully we will have more details soon, but in the meantime spare a thought for the many people at 3dfx, both here in Europe and at their parent company in the US, who will be having a rather less than merry Christmas this year...