Deck 9 Video games, the studio behind Life is Unusual: True Colours and Telltale’s The Expanse, has introduced it is shedding a fifth of its workers within the wake of “worsening market situations.” It is the third developer to announce layoffs this week, and the fourth information of business layoffs as a complete, and it is solely Wednesday.
The developer tweeted its announcement of the layoffs, writing: “Like many others within the video games business proper now, Deck 9 has been affected by the sport business’s worsening market situations. As we speak we made the tough determination to put off 20% of our workers. These individuals are superb, proficient, and superior builders. They’ve made a big impact throughout their time at Deck 9 Video games and we didn’t take this determination evenly. Please rent these folks when you can, they’re superb.”
Eurogamer posits that the proportion equates to round 30 Deck 9 staff dropping their job. That is roughly the identical quantity of individuals it lower in Could 2023, although Sport Developer reported that the studio failed to supply a purpose behind the layoffs.
The information got here mere hours after Sony Interactive Leisure CEO Jim Ryan introduced that the corporate can be chopping 900 staff, simply days earlier than Ryan is about to step down from his position. Each these layoffs had been preceded by Supermassive Video games revealing that 150 roles had been “in danger” of being let go at first of this week. Elsewhere within the business, esports large ESL Faceit Group yesterday introduced it will be shedding round 15% of its international workforce to “assist EFG’s sustainable development ambitions and profitability.”
We’re solely two months into 2024 and the business is already creeping in the direction of surpassing the astonishingly excessive variety of reported layoffs that passed off final yr. Web site Sport Business Layoffs estimates that round 10,500 business jobs had been lower in 2023, and this yr is already sitting at over 7,000. PC Gamer’s personal estimations lie at round 11,250 folks final yr, with our chart displaying the rising depth of those layoffs portray a worrisome image for the way forward for the business.