Indie studio Radical Forge has been hit with a round of layoffs, with an unspecified number of employees affected.
15.02.2024 - 13:17 / techradar.com / Interactive
Canadian game development studio Blackbird Interactive is laying off a number of its staff, employees have revealed.
The studio, which employed around 220 members of staff as of December 2023 according to its studio overview fact sheet, is currently working on the upcoming real-time strategy game Homeworld 3, as well as the roguelike sci-fi deckbuilder, Earthless. It previously developedHardspace: Shipbreaker and co-developedMinecraft Legends alongside Mojang Studios.
As Game Developer reports, the news was first shared by a number of impacted employees on LinkedIn. One of these was Jacob Van Rooyen, who served as lead producer for a new IP project at the studio.
“This morning, Blackbird Interactive announced layoffs across the company and, unfortunately, I was one of those impacted,” he wrote yesterday (February 14). “Despite the situation, I appreciate all the experiences and wonderful people I've met and known at BBI. I've been amazed and humbled by everyone’s support today, and I wish everyone impacted the best in landing on their feet.”
Others affected include associate programmer Dylan Freddi, as well as lead and senior game designer Victoria Wojcik. Wojcik wrote: “2024 comes full of surprises! I am looking for work. Unfortunately I have been affected by recent layoffs.”
At the time of writing, it’s not clear how many people have been affected by these layoffs, but TechRadar Gaming has reached out to Blackbird Interactive for comment, and we will update this story if we receive a response.
This latest news follows last week’s announcement that Homeworld 3’s release is being delayed by a couple of months, from March 8 to May 13 (advanced access will start on May 10). In a statement released at the time, the developer revealed that the decision to delay the game came from “careful analysis of feedback” from players.
“To say that you as a community of players have been waiting patiently for this next instalment would be an understatement, and we are deeply appreciative of that,” the studio wrote at the time. “We will continue to keep you updated on our progress.”
Looking for some new games to dive into? Be sure to check out our roundup of the best PC games , as well as the best PC strategy games .
Indie studio Radical Forge has been hit with a round of layoffs, with an unspecified number of employees affected.
Deck Nine has announced that it had laid off 20% of its overall workforce, due to the current market situation which has led to a large scale series of redundancies across the video game industry. The developer, which has developer Life Is Strange: True Colors, Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, Life Is Strange Remastered Collection, and The Expanse: A Telltale Series, confirmed the news of X, formerly known as Twitter.
Electronics Arts (EA) has confirmed plans to lay off around five percent of its staff, move away from developing future licensed games it doesn't think will be successful, and begin “winding down Ridgeline as a standalone studio.”
Deck Nine has announced that it had laid off 20% of its overall workforce, due to the current market situation which has led to a large scale series of redundancies across the video game industry. The developer, which has developer Life Is Strange: True Colors, Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, Life Is Strange Remastered Collection, and The Expanse: A Telltale Series, confirmed the news of X, formerly known as Twitter.
Deck Nine, the studio behind Life Is Strange entries Before the Storm and True Colors, as well as The Expanse: A Telltale Series, laid off 20% of its staff today.
Deck Nine, the studio behind Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Life is Strange: True Colors and Telltale series The Expanse, has laid off a fifth of its staff.
Deck Nine Games has confirmed that it’s laying off 20 percent of its staff as a result of being affected by “the games industry’s worsening market conditions.”
Another game development studio has joined an increasing list of companies that have been hit with layoffs in 2024. Deck Nine Games, developer of Life is Strange: True Colors, has announced that it’s laying off 20 percent of its total workforce. An IGN report states the studio employed 100-130 employes, which means over 20 people are set to face job cuts.
As if the gaming industry wasn’t going through enough already, one of the studios behind the beloved Life Is Strange series, Deck Nine Games, issued today’s latest round of layoffs. The studio’s announcement was issued on the heels of others today, like PlayStation, and yesterday with developer Supermassive.
Deck Nine Games, the studio behind Life is Strange: True Colours and last year's The Expanse: A Telltale Series, has announced it's laying off approximately 20 percent of its total workforce, blaming «the game industry's worsening market conditions».
Anyone working in the video game industry must feel as if they have a target painted on their back. 2023 saw at least 6000 people lose their jobs and 2024 is somehow looking much worse. January saw Microsoft sack 9000 people, there’s been a raft of smaller studio closures and staff cuts. Now Sony has joined this miserable party, handing 900 PlayStation workers their notices across the company.
It’s been confirmed that 10 Chambers, the studio behind the horror shooter GTFO and upcoming cooperative heist shooter Den of Wolves, has laid off a number of its staff amid changes intended to “benefit the long-term development” of its next game.