A Kotaku report says Naughty Dog, the developer of The Last of Us and Uncharted games, is the latest studio to lay off employees, with at least 25 contract workers being told that they'll be let go at the end of October. The report also says that The Last of Us multiplayer shooter spinoff announced in 2022 is in trouble, and while it hasn't been cancelled at this point, its fate remains uncertain.
Immortals of Aveum’s Ascendant Studios reportedly lays off nearly half of its staff
15.09.2023 - 12:45 / destructoid.com / Bret Robbins / Of Its / Lays Off
Just weeks following the launch of Immortals of Aveum, developer Ascendant Studios has laid off approximately 45% of its team, according to a report by Polygon’s Nicole Carpenter and testimony from some of the impacted employees. Ascendant CEO Bret Robbins explained the layoffs in a Twitter post as “a painfully difficult, but necessary decision that was not made lightly.”
pic.twitter.com/gftU3XlbFZ
It is unclear at press time what the specific reason for the layoffs is, though the Polygon report says a former Ascendant employee attributed them to Immortals of Aveum’s poor sales. Robbins doesn’t elaborate on that in the public statement, though he does say “we have to make this adjustment now that Immortals of Aveum has shipped.”
Immortals of Aveum launched on August 22 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. The game was published by EA and marketed as an EA Original, but despite that, according to SteamDB, player totals haven’t exceeded 200 the entire month of September. It would seem the game could be a contender for worst selling game under the EA Originals branding, as stated by an anonymous former employee in the Polygon report.
Robbins, in his post on Twitter, confirms that Ascendent is “supporting those affected in every way we can, including comprehensive severance packages and job placement assistance,” and goes on to assure the current team, as well as those involved in these layoffs, that the studio will continue to support the development of the Immortals IP “with future updates and offers.”
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